


Not Everyone Runs On Batteries

by AnonEhouse



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-26
Updated: 2012-05-10
Packaged: 2017-11-04 08:47:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 21,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/391978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonEhouse/pseuds/AnonEhouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now complete! I thank all who commented, kudoed, or read.</p>
<p>This is an apocalyptic alternate universe in which I throw Tony at Steve until they stick. Chapter 7 & Chapter 11 have some nookie, but alas, mostly it's plot. I saw the Avengers movie after I wrote Chapter 10, but I'd already plotted it out before I saw it, my ideas were fairly drastically different. I must admit a few small words/actions from the movie appear to have begun creeping in. I doubt they're spoilers because the context is different, but if you read this before seeing the movie you may experience deja vu when you hear something or see a few seconds of a scene.</p>
<p>Various other Marvel characters appear in this, but the only one who isn't a garden-variety human is Bruce Banner. X-Men avatars enter the story in Chapter 9. Peter Parker enters in Chapter 13, along with a mention of Matt Murdock.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

(If you are reading this on any PAY site this is a STOLEN WORK, the author has NOT Given Permission for it to be here. If you're paying to read it, you're being cheated too because you can read it on Archiveofourown for FREE.)

Back when there were televisions and the internet Steve hadn't spent much time checking out crackpot conspiracy end-of-the-world sites bracketed by ads for Survival Flashlights and Survival Seed Vaults. He doesn't regret it, because he kinda doubts any of them had the answers to what had really happened, or even the right questions. So, yeah, one day a bunch of birds drop down dead out of the sky, and there's a lot of static on the phone lines, but you wouldn't think that was the beginning of the end, sometimes birds get sick, or poisoned and hey, Steve's phone company never was all that reliable. And maybe it snows in Tahiti, and rains on the North Pole, but it's not as if people have been keeping track of the weather for all that long, maybe this is a...fluke, just a blip on a graph. But then a lot of things just... stop working, and the weather keeps shifting, and there are meteor showers and... in general, things just go to hell.

No one knows why and really when you work all day to stay alive, you don't have the energy to think about anything non-survival related. Steve is lucky. He's big and healthy and he's gathered a group of people here in what used to be upstate New York. The ground is still fertile, and they're close enough to the city to drive a team of horses in every few weeks, scrounging for supplies in the suburbs. Maybe spring will come, and they'll be able to plant crops. Whatever has happened, it's made people kinda crazy, so Steve's been careful. He goes out by himself, sometimes, but then he uses his wartime skills to make certain he only approaches people who aren't a threat to his group.

Right now he's snowshoeing his way towards a tendril of smoke. There'd been a meteor shower the night before and sometimes the meteors set fires that snowbreaks can't contain, so he makes it a habit to check them out, make sure they can't spread to threaten his people. "Huh." Steve comes over a slight rise and looks down at a fairly small crater whose center is occupied by something red and shiny, like metal. Maybe it's not a meteor. Could it be a downed satellite? Anyway, it's something different, and he's curious.

The closer he gets, the odder the red metal object looks. It's not much bigger than a man... in fact, it's got arms and legs, half buried in the dirt. A robot? A robot from space? Maybe those crazy alien invasion stories weren't so crazy. Steve hesitates, and then he continues. Even if it's a killer robot, falling out of the sky must have broken it and maybe he can learn something from looking at it. It'd be nice to find out that something was behind the disaster, because then there'd be something he could fight.

He takes off his snowshoes at the edge of the crater, and slides down the slope, warily watching the robot. It doesn't move, not even when he gets right over it. It's not entirely dead, though, as there's a blue-white light steadily glowing in the middle of the chest. "What is that?" Nothing electrical has worked in months. Steve feels slightly excited. If the robot's power source can be copied, maybe... they could do a lot more than just survive. He looks at the light and can't see any way to remove it. And maybe he shouldn't try. He might break it. Better to take the whole robot home and get Bruce to look at it. Bruce had been a physicist, he certainly knows more about things like this than Steve. He digs the robot's limbs clear and starts pulling it from the shoulders. The robot's head moves to the side. 

And it groans, a protesting, wordless noise, but not a mechanical one.

Steve stops and looks down at the metal face. "What are you?"

The metal head moves again from side to side, and then it breaks open, the front of it lifting away to reveal a man's face. He has a ragged dark beard and dazed-looking brown eyes. His skin is gray with shock and marked with streaks of blood. Steve isn't sure the man even sees him before the brown eyes close again. "Ok. Not a robot." Even encased in metal the man isn't too heavy for Steve to haul out of the crater. He hopes he's not causing more damage by moving him, but it's not as if the EMTs are going to come flying in with backboards and IVs. The metal is slightly warm to the touch, which conveniently melts the snow and makes it easier to drag the man once Steve ties a rope around his shoulders. He really hopes the man will live. Robot-man has a pretty face, and Steve is tired of burying pretty things.

***

"Hey, Clint," Steve calls out cheerfully as he nears the home compound. "Call Bruce. I need him. Tell him to bring the tool kit as well as the first aid kit."

Clint waves to him with his hunting bow from his post atop the palisades and then disappears, running to the other side of the compound.

Steve drops the drag rope. This close to home they've trampled down the snow. He kneels next to the man and begins investigating the armor. He doesn't see any way to get it off, bare-handed, but he does find a catch to release the helmet so he can check the man's pulse. Steve frowns. He's checked enough fallen comrades to have an idea what a normal pulse feels like. He could swear there was a double rhythm- a weak pulse followed by a stronger one. Averaging it out, the rate was slightly elevated, but not too bad.

Bruce comes hurrying out, carrying a bulky bag in either hand. "Clint said... oh, he wasn't joking."

"No, not this time. I found him in a crater. Let's get him out of this... armor." Now that Steve is pausing to think, the armor looks as if it's been in battle, not just taken damage from a crash. Who was he fighting?

Bruce hands Steve a flat-head screwdriver. "Try all the edges, something's got to pry up."

Once they get one piece off, it's easier to access the others. "Oh," Bruce says in wonder once they get the last piece of armor off, leaving the man wearing a very unmilitary, un-alien, rock band t-shirt and grease-stained jeans. "That's... my god, it's implanted in his chest." He touches the glowing object, tracing the edges with his fingers.

"No!" the man on the ground shouts, waking up wide-eyed and grabbing Bruce's wrist to shove him away before rolling to his side, then onto his knees, arching his back and raising his hands with both palms out. "Get away!"

"It's all right." Steve holds his hands up the same way, trying to be reassuring. "We're trying to help you. You crashed. Do you remember? I found you in the woods."

The man looks around wildly. "Where?"

"Upstate New York. Near a village called Deposit. Just off route 17 in the Catskills," Steve keeps talking as he edges closer. 

"Catskills." The man turns his hands over and looks at his palms. "So, I'm not dead yet."

"No, not yet." Steve moves closer.

"I need to put the armor back on. Have to get back..." The man is swaying slightly from side to side. "There's no one else."

"Later," Steve says. "We'll help you put your armor back on later."

"You will?"

"Yes. We have to make plans. You can't go back without plans."

The man frowns. "I had plans. They didn't work."

"We'll make new plans. Better ones."

"We?"

"Yeah." Steve doesn't know what he's promising, but he knows what battle fatigue looks like. When you haven't slept more than a few minutes at a time for days, and you're too tired to eat even if you had food, but adrenalin won't let you rest, because you're not safe, your buddies aren't safe, and you haven't the energy to think beyond that. "You're safe here. You can rest. I'll take the watch." 

The man looks at Steve, really looks at him. "Who are you?"

"Captain Steve Rogers, USMC."

"Oh. I'm... Tony Stark." And then he folds up, unconscious before Steve catches him.

***


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mainly flirting.

While Bruce looks over the armor, Steve tends to Tony. No one goes by more than one name in their little community, and Steve once knew a man called Stark, so he thinks of him as Tony as he strips him and assesses his injuries. For a man who fell out of the sky, he's in amazingly good shape. Which is to say that nothing major appears to be broken, but there's quite a lot of minor damage- blisters, cuts and bruises in a variety of colors, ranging from the red of new injury through blue, purple, black, green, and finally the yellow of several weeks of healing. Maybe he's been fighting since this whole thing started, and since he'd been reassured by hearing that Steve was a Marine, he's been fighting on Steve's side. Steve gets a chair and sits next to Tony's bed, waiting for him to wake. He wants to find out who the enemy is.

And he wants know who Tony is, how he got this armor. Steve's fairly sure no military organization on Earth would make red and gold battle armor, but he's totally at a loss to figure out who else... unless... the Stark he knew had been a genius... but he'd been an old man, and he'd never mentioned having any relatives. Steve leans close to study Tony's face. It's possible. And if this is Howard's son and he's half as clever as Howard had been... yeah, they might be able to figure something out. 

Steve sits back to wait patiently for answers.

***

"Armor."

Steve knows better than to touch a disoriented soldier asking about his weapons. "It's here. You're safe, Tony." 

"Safe? No." Tony sits up and looks around. "What... Where's the armor?" He blinks. "I remember you. Steve..."

"Steve Rogers. Your armor was pretty banged up, and I'm afraid we didn't do it much good taking it off."

Tony frowns. "I have to see it." He starts to get up, moving awkwardly.

"Take it slow." Steve puts an arm around Tony. "You were banged up, too."

Tony looks at Steve. "Huh. You're big."

Steve grins. "Yeah, I ate all my Wheaties." He helps Tony stand, but keeps an arm around his waist. Tony doesn't seem to mind, and Steve certainly has no objections. Tony is even prettier when he's awake, even if he's not quite coherent. "After you see the armor, how about we get something to eat?" 

"Coffee?"

"Yeah, we have coffee." Steve laughs. "Howard thought he could live on coffee, too."

Tony drags them to a halt and looks at Steve, eyes focusing sharply. "My father's dead."

"Yeah. I heard. I only knew him for a few weeks. He'd come out to field demonstrate. Said no one else understood 'his babies.' "

Tony nods. "That was dad. So... you're a Marine and this is..." Tony glanced around at the rough wooden walls.

"Started out as someone's summer retreat, I think. We've been adding to it."

"We? How many are you?"

"Enough for a small strike force... if we knew where to strike." Steve looks steadily at Tony. "Not all Marines, but we're all survivors, and willing to do whatever it takes."

"Don't look at me. I'm not a team player. I don't... lean on others. And I don't want anyone leaning on me."

Steve would be angry at Tony's words, but the fact that Tony _is_ leaning on him puts the lie to them. "Yeah, ok, no pressure here." He starts walking and Tony follows his lead without protest.

***

"Not too bad," Tony says after looking at the armor Bruce has laid out on the floor in the largest room of the main house. "A few hours in a machine shop and I'll have it back in running order."

"No machine shop," Steve commented. "And if we had one, there's no power. There's no electricity anywhere, so far as I can tell."

Tony shrugs. "Power's not a problem." He taps his chest. "GE didn't make this."

"How much power can that generate?" Bruce asks.

"Enough. The first model could manage 3 gigajoules per second. I've upgraded several times since then." Tony isn't paying Bruce much attention. He turns to Steve. "Where's the nearest machine shop?"

"There's a garage in the village, but I'm not sure it has what you need."

"Well, if not, there'll be a car, and we can go on from there."

"Tony, cars won't start."

"I know, electric ignition isn't working. Diesel still works, though. They use fuel compression for ignition. Rather have a car, though, I can..." Tony laughs briefly. "I can _be_ a car battery, bypass the system and get it going."

"All right, we'll load the armor onto the wagon and start for the village after we eat."

"We could eat on the way."

"No, Tony." Steve sees he has to be firm. "We're going to be civilized as long as we can. We eat sitting down around a table. After we've washed and shaved."

Tony tilts his head and scratches at his beard. "Huh. You don't like the mountain man look?"

Steve folds his arms across his chest. "Have you got something to hide?"

Tony grins, a flash of white teeth against scruffy dark beard. "I've been on the cover of GQ."

Bruce looks from Tony to Steve and back again. "I'll just go see how the food is coming along."

***


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions and explanations.

"Aren't you done yet?" Steve has allowed Tony privacy in the 'infirmary' bathroom, but he's had time enough to wash and shave three times over. It was a good thing they had the extra facility. "After all this primping, I expect..."

The bathroom door opens and Tony smiles at Steve. "What?"

Steve blinks. Tony now has a goatee, a full Van Dyke, meticulously groomed and shaped. His hair is still overly long, but neatly combed. It's slightly wavy despite obvious attempts to tame it. "Yeah, ok, I didn't expect that." Tony's smile disappears, and Steve thinks, 'what the hell, why not?' as he reaches out to pull Tony in for a kiss. After a moment, Tony kisses back. Steve slides his hands down to Tony's ass, and Tony's arms go around his waist. Eventually, Steve breaks the kiss. "So."

Tony grins at him. "Yeah, I'm easy. You haven't even taken me to dinner yet."

***

"Tony Stark, I'd like you to meet the rest of our group." Steve has his arm around Tony's shoulders as they walk into the dining room. Clint reaches into his pocket and hands Bruce a much wrinkled twenty. Bruce smiles serenely and goes back to filling bowls with venison stew. "You've already met Bruce- Bruce Banner. That's Clint Barton, we call him Hawkeye- he's our marksman, good with a bow, too, which is handy because it's getting more difficult to find ammo these days."

Tony nods. "If we can get the materials, I can make loads for any weapon."

"Any weapon?" An eye-patched older man asks.

"General Nick Fury," Steve says.

"General without an army, just call me Fury. And can you produce ammo for that?" Fury points to a gun leaning against the wall. It looks like a cross between a machine gun and a rocket launcher.

Tony glances at it. "Yes. What percentage of tracer rounds do you want in between the armor-piercing?"

Fury's bland expression doesn't change. "One. I have no problem with aim."

Steve turns next to the two women sitting companionably together. "Natasha Romanova. 'Tasha mainly relies on hand-to-hand combat, but I can't think of anything she doesn't do well."

Natasha gives Tony a cool look and goes back to slicing a lumpy loaf of bread.

"And Virginia Potts. Pepper is logistics, diplomacy, and ... I suppose 'scrounger' is the best word. She found this camp for us. She's CEO for..."

"For a company that no longer exists." Pepper stands up and looks at Tony. She smiles suddenly. "One of Mr. Stark's competitors as a matter of fact. Hammer Industries."

Tony winces. "Justin Hammer."

Pepper's grin widens. "Well, the good part about all this is that I managed to tell him I quit just before the meteors gutted the factory." She sighs. "Ruined a good pair of shoes running through the rubble."

***

Bruce is the one to harness four big horses to the wagon (apparently it had been intended for some parade- it still has bits of colored bunting decorating the sides), but everyone else works with practiced efficiency to load essentials onto it. The Iron Man suit gets wrapped up in bundles of sheets and stowed under all the supplies. 

"I thought you said the town was less than a day away," Tony comments as the wagon fills.

Steve puts a side of smoked pork down inside the wagon and turns to Tony. "You didn't think we were going to leave you on your own, did you? I told you we're a strike force, and you're going to give us a chance to fight back. We're with you, all the way."

"I... it's not likely we're going to win. There's an army involved."

Fury grunts as he goes past with the big gun cradled in his arms. "You can tell us about it on the way."

***

"I was in California when the disturbances began. Like most people, I didn't pay attention to the _weird_ news, you know, crop circles, mysterious lights, flocks of birds crashing into buildings, that sort of thing." Tony leans against Steve. The ride is bumpy enough to make jostling inevitable. Steve doesn't mind in the least. "But then I got an email from a Reed Richards, sent to pretty much every scientific genius in Mensa."

Clint raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I know," Tony says. "A lot of us are impractical geniuses, qualifying mainly because we do well on I.Q. tests, but Reed was covering all the bases. He'd contacted everyone he knew in the established scientific community, but he wanted to make sure he didn't overlook any of the loners. The data he sent showed a definite progression- something too regular to be natural. He couldn't get the government to pay attention-- granted, Reed was something of an oddball, but he was _right_. I worked on it on my own a little out of curiosity, but couldn't come to any better conclusions-- not my field." Tony looks away from the wagon, across the snowy woods.

Everyone waits for him to continue, the only sounds the crunch of the horses' hooves through the snow and the rattle and creak of the wagon. 

Tony draws a deep breath. "And then the power failed. I flew to New York, and met Reed. We used my... " Tony taps his chest. "...to power Reed's equipment. He found the source, the epicenter... and then they found _us_ and attacked Reed's lab. I was hooked up to the machinery, and couldn't get free right away. Reed and his family went out to give me time. I never saw them again after that. I haven't been able to reach the coordinates we found. It's always too heavily guarded."

"Who is it guarded by?" Fury asks.

"What... they're not human. They're big, blue bastards. They arrived in what sure look like spaceships. They also have flying one-man vehicles, and at least one huge flying... _thing_ that I haven't been able to decide whether it's alive, or a machine, or a ship crewed by more of these... creatures. The best I've been able to do is to keep them from spreading beyond the city itself. I've got to get back in the armor before they realize I'm out of the picture. Once they establish a secondary base, it'll be that much harder to root them out."

Steve rubs his chin. "You were just going to go back and keep throwing yourself at an army?"

"It seemed like the thing to do at the time."

Pepper leans forward and pats Tony on the knee. "You're not alone any more. I'm sure we can come up with a better plan than that."

Natasha nods. "We'll gather intel."

Fury adds, "And man-power."

Bruce slaps the reins on the horse's backs and they move slightly faster. Bruce clears his throat. "We're going to need a big car."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's snow going.

They used the road often enough that the snow wasn't too deep for the wagon wheels, but it was still slow going. "The horses need a breather," Bruce says, pulling the wagon to a halt. "Everyone out."

"Why?" Tony looks up from where he's somehow slid down to rest his head in Steve's lap. "If they're not pulling the wagon, our weight won't make any difference." He closes his eyes again.

"Bruce wants us to get out. That's reason enough." Steve moves out from under Tony.

"No." Tony drags over one of the softer bundles and puts it under his head. 

"Tony." Steve is becoming annoyed. Everyone else has got out of the wagon and is stretching their legs. "You don't make the rules. Get out."

Tony doesn't even open his eyes. "You're cute, but not that cute. And Bruce isn't even as cute as you. Wake me when we get there. And Bruce... this is for you." Tony salutes Bruce with his middle finger.

Steve gets out of the wagon. "You really shouldn't annoy Bruce, " Steve says.

"Twirl, Bruce. HEY!" Tony's eyes open wide as a huge green arm picks him up and spins him around in the air.

"Bruce!" Steve shouts, clinging to the upper part of the arm and being dragged in the air. "Don't break him! And no, don't twirl him, either."

Tony flies through the air, landing in a snowdrift. "Ow." 

Steve goes over and drags him out. "Are you hurt?"

"Nothing bruised except my pride." Tony isn't looking at Steve, or paying attention to the snow soaking his jeans and t-shirt. He's looking at the ten foot tall green man holding the wagon a few feet up from the snow, while Clint, Fury and Natasha lower snow skids from the body of the wagon. The horses are looking at the green man with bored unconcern.

"Bruce came up with that idea. When he wasn't Hulking out," Steve explains, following Tony's stare. 

"Huh. So... that's Bruce."

"Yeah. Lab accident. We try not to upset him because this happens." Steve grins at Tony. "He must like you. He didn't even throw you into a tree."

"Yeah." Tony is shivering while watching Bruce with a contemplative look on his face. "Can he do that deliberately? And how strong is he?"

"No, and we have no idea. We haven't really felt like having the house demolished around us while testing." Steve touches Tony's arm. "Get out of those wet things. I'll get you something dry to change into."

"I'm fine."

Steve ignores Tony's protest, which sounds half-hearted anyway, and rummages out several shirts and trousers. Once Bruce finishes calming down he'll need new clothes, too. He brings the clothes back to Tony. "Here. Don't tell me you're shy." 

Tony grins. He's shivering harder now. "No. B..but I'm too cold... for a strip tt...tease." Tony peels off his damp t-shirt and Steve looks at the metal set in his chest. "Does that make you colder?"

Tony glances down at it. "Sometimes. I'm used t..to it." He shrugs on the flannel shirt Steve holds out to him, tugs off the wet jeans and pulls on plaid wool trousers. "I'm really glad there isn't a mirror handy."

***

Tony dozes off again once they're back in the wagon. He's still shivering in his sleep, so Steve wraps a blanket around him before he eases further away to talk with the others quietly.

Fury says, "You baby him, Rogers."

Steve doesn't know what to say to that, but he doesn't have to respond as Natasha says, "Someone has to. He hasn't been trained for this."

"And we have?" Clint says, while inspecting his bow.

Pepper puts in, "He's irresponsible and undisciplined, but he can also do the impossible when he's motivated. I kept track of the competition and keeping track of Tony... well, he kept the file-clippers busy. If Steve can keep him focused and from self-destructing, he can be a huge asset."

Fury grunts, "Or he can blow us out of the water."

Bruce turns back from the driver's seat. "Or I might. But we have to try. There really isn't any other choice, is there? I've been keeping records... spring isn't coming. This is like a Norse legend. The Fimbulwinter foretells the coming of Ragnarok, the end of the world."

Clint wraps up his spare bowstrings in oiled cloth and slips them into his shirt. "You read too much, doc."

Steve looks up into the gray sky at the drifting flakes of snow. "How does the legend go?"

"There are supposed to be great wars, the ties of blood are no longer honored, and brother kills brother. I don't remember if it said that anyone survives."

"I think I prefer the Disney version," Clint says after a while.

***

"Reception committee ahead." Clint stands up on the driver's seat next to Bruce, balancing easily.

"They look a little nervous," Natasha remarks after a quick look at the wooden barricades across the road and the small group of men and women armed with hunting rifles standing behind them.

Steve nods. "We weren't due for a supply run for another week. And we never all came at once."

"Time to be diplomatic," Fury said, while looking at Tony.

"I can do diplomatic. I can be _charming_ if it'll get what I need." Tony rakes his hands through his hair. "There, good to go."

"What _we_ need, Tony," Steve says, putting a hand lightly on Tony's arm, "is for you to follow Pepper's lead. Let her do her job."

Tony frowns. "We don't have _time_ to play games."

"We don't have time to argue." Bruce eases the horses to a stop. "Hello!" he calls out.

"Hello." The biggest man steps around the barricade and comes up to the wagon. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, no," Pepper says with a bright smile.

"Looks like you're moving on."

"Yes, we are."

The man glances at Tony and then looks back. The plaid shirt isn't completely hiding the blue light in Tony's chest. "What the hell is _that_?" He raises his rifle swiftly, pointing it at Tony. Everything happens after that so fast it's impossible to sort events out. Steve pushes Tony behind him, grabbing up a big pot lid as a makeshift shield, Pepper shrieks and jumps back. Fury has a gun in his hand, aiming at the man's head. Clint's bow is bent, with an arrow sighted along it at the people behind the barricade. And Bruce is swelling up green with a roar.

But it's Natasha's foot that kicks the rifle out of line a moment before she wraps an arm around the man's throat and turns him to face his friends. "I think we have a little misunderstanding here. Tell your friends to put their weapons down before someone gets hurt."

The man paws at her arm. Natasha tightens her grip. He chokes out, "Wait! Let's talk." No one else moves.

Natasha eases the choke-hold. "So talk."

"That light... we saw that last night. In the sky. He's behind all this!"

"No!" Tony frees himself from Steve. "Would I be _here_ if I was? Like this?" Tony spreads his arms to encompass his mis-matched clothes, the shabby wagon and Steve's group. "I'm against them. I crashed last night, and I'm trying to get back to the fight. I....we need your help to get to the city."

The man looks at Tony for a long moment and then nods as best he can. "Mister, if you can point us at the bastards, you've got a deal."


	5. Chapter 5

"Binghamton's the nearest city likely to have the rest of what you want," the mechanic tells Tony as he sorts out welding gear. 

Tony is rummaging through the desk for a map. "Not bad," he says when he locates Binghamton in reference to Deposit. "Anyone in town have an SUV?" 

"We won't all fit in an SUV," Pepper says, "Not with all our gear."

"The SUV is for me and my ... gear."

Steve reaches out and smacks Tony lightly on the back of the head.

"HEY! What was that for?" 

"To remind you that you are not alone. Not any more."

"Fine, fine, but I can only keep one car going, so the rest of you will have to settle for a school bus. They're nearly all diesel." Tony turns to the mechanic. "There is a diesel school bus, isn't there?"

"Well, yeah, we have a couple, but they're all nearly out of fuel, and without electricity we can't run the gas station pumps."

Tony sighs, grabs a grease pencil and begins sketching on the nearest wall. "I'll show you how to retrofit it for hand pumping." 

Fury looks at the diagram taking form. "Write large. I want that copied and circulated." He almost smiles. "We need transport for our army."

***

"That's the last one I can make here," Tony says as he wipes his greasy hands on his shirt and then slips off his welding goggles. He picks up a mug and drinks from it, grimacing at the cold coffee.

"I'll pack up the tools," Steve says, "You can rest while we finish getting ready."

"Oh?" Tony leans against the workbench, free hand idly drumming against his chest. "What were you all doing?"

Steve has seen him do that several times now. He wonders if Tony even realizes he's doing it. "I was playing fetch for you, if you recall."

Tony tilts his head in agreement. "And very fetching you were, too."

"Pepper found people who could silk-screen the diagram and manual typewriters for the instructions. I think someone's even found a mimeograph in the school basement."

Tony blinks. "Wow, we really are back to the stone age."

"Clint and Natasha have sorted out a few people to add to the strike force, they'll be in the bus that'll carry our gear. A second busload of volunteers has already left to spread the word."

Tony makes a sort of 'yes, I hear you, totally am not interested, but attempting to be polite' noise, while locating a plate that still has a few pieces of fried chicken on it. 

"Fury's planned out our whole campaign. He's got maps. And colored push-pins."

"Yeah, huh." Tony is talking around a chicken leg.

"Bruce gave the horses to a group of orphans and went to the library to catch up on the back issues of Popular Science."

"Ye..." Tony stops eating and looks at Steve. "What?"

Steve laughs. "We're gassed up, and everything's packed except for these tools, and you."

"Great!" Tony drops the half-eaten chicken leg and starts for the exit. Steve grabs him by the collar. "Go wash up. It's going to be a long ride in an enclosed vehicle."

"Yes, mom," Tony says, giving Steve an exasperated look. "I am, in case you hadn't noticed, a grown man."

"I noticed. Go wash, and be a clean grown man."

Tony heads for the bathroom, grumbling, "You had better be incredible in bed, Steve..."

***

"That looks weird," Clint comments when Tony tightens the last buckle on a make-shift harness of webbing, alligator clips and electrical cabling that's strapped around his chest. "You're not going to blow up the car, are you? I like this car."

"I'm not going to blow up the car. Get in the back, Clint."

"Hey, I called dibs on shotgun!"

"I've got shotgun," Tony says as he attaches the last connection under the steering column and the car starts. He slides over to the passenger side as Clint gets out, and leans back, closing his eyes. "I'm just the battery, someone else can drive."

"It'll be night soon," Fury comments. "Steve has the best night-vision."

Steve gets behind the wheel. "Someone keep an eye on the bus. We don't want to lose our backup."

Tony doesn't open his eyes. "If they can't follow us without hand-holding, they're not likely to be much use at anything else."

"Yeah, but all our gear is on that bus."

"Except for my suit, Clint's bow, Natasha's knives, Pepper's day-planner, and Fury's howitzer, which are here," Tony says sleepily. "This is the SUV that can conquer the world."

Steve reaches over to ruffle Tony's hair. "Yeah, I bet we can."

Bruce sighs. "This is going to be a long ride. Anyone want to play 'I Spy'?"

Fury gives him a look. "No."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony continues being not a team player, but no one is really worried about this, because Steve has matters well in hand.

"Stop here," Fury says as they near their destination, two hours later. It should have been a half an hour journey, but that was when there had been streetlights, road crews to clear away snow and fallen trees, and AAA to haul off stranded vehicles. Steve has lost track of the number of times they'd had to pile out-- except for Tony who had to stay hooked up to keep the headlights going -- and clear the way. Tony had teased Bruce into Hulking out to get one massive tree out of the way, and then they had to calm the Hulk down to Bruce-size so they could fit him into the SUV. They are all tired and edgy.

"Why?" Tony is fidgeting, tapping at his chest and fiddling with some small piece of discarded electronics he had found in the glove compartment. "We _own_ the road. No one else _can_ be driving."

"My point, exactly. We don't want to panic the good citizens. Natasha and Clint will reconnoiter, find someone in authority and introduce us. We don't want a repeat of what happened at Deposit."

After Natasha and Clint leave, Fury says, "While Stark gets his equipment repaired, we'll begin gathering our forces."

"What forces? You really aren't serious." Tony turns to face Fury. "Honestly, I understand the military imperative here, but you can't just put the posse on horseback and go after the bad guys. The bad guys in this case are heavily armed, battle-hardened, _creatures_ whose faces would give the average citizen a heart attack."

"And you think your lone gun-slinger act is gonna do the job?" Fury leans forward slightly toward Tony. "You need all the help you can get. It's not about you, Stark. It's not about going out with glory. It's about winning."

"Rah, rah, rah, yeah, sure." Tony turns his attention back to the toy in his hands.

Steve looks back at Fury, but doesn't say anything.

"Maybe you should put on another shirt," Pepper says to Tony, a little nervously. "Cover up... we don't need the car any longer. We could all go in the bus."

"If they're going to freak at my flashlight, I'd rather it happen while we're on guard against it." Tony sighs and drums his fingers on it again. "I don't like waiting for things to happen."

Bruce has been quiet in the back seat, now he says, "the waiting is hard. But it's easier when you're not alone."

***

Clint and Natasha return with a group of people carrying torches. Tony glances back at Bruce. "If you see any pitchforks and someone shouts 'there are things man was not meant to know', you break for it on the left, I'll take the right." Bruce laughs.

The people are curious and friendly, perhaps a little too friendly. Steve smiles and leans across Tony to gently nudge back the hands trying to touch Tony. "It's been a long day, sorry. We really need some place to get some shut eye. Let's talk in the morning." He revs the engine as a reminder, and reluctantly the crowd parts.

They all bunk down in the largest room in the biggest hotel in town. Tony looks around at the mattresses pressed together on the floor, but doesn't complain. He's been tapping at his chest more often since the grabby hands episode. Bruce looks a bit frazzled, too. 

Fury sets a chair facing the room's only door and sits down. "I've got first watch."

"So, you don't trust them," Tony remarks.

"Oh, I trust them. As far as I can see them." He looks around the room, lit only by the glow of Tony's chest. "So, not all that much, no. Get some sleep."

Bruce and Tony wind up at the innermost part of the mattress collection, with Steve, Clint, Pepper, and Natasha arranging themselves in a protective circle around their paradoxically most powerful, most vulnerable, members. After everyone settles, Tony asks, "Does my night light bother anyone? I can cover it."

"Nah," Steve speaks for all of them as he reaches out to stroke Tony's arm. "It's nice."

***

As it turns out Pepper knows someone in Binghamton who can get them what Tony requires to fix his armor, and then she finds people to get him other things he thinks of as he's hammering out dents and soldering connections. Steve thinks this is her secret power. She knows someone _everywhere_. 

Around noon Steve comes into the shop Tony's taken over, bringing a pot of coffee and a pile of sandwiches. "Lunch time."

"Uh huh," Tony says without lifting his goggles or shutting off his oxy-acetylene torch. He's down to t-shirt and borrowed jeans, both sweat-damp and clinging to him as he moves. Steve pauses to admire the view and then he waves the coffee steam in Tony's direction. Thirty seconds later Tony shuts off the torch, straightens and turns toward Steve.

"Hand it over, and no one gets hurt."

Steve grins and gives Tony the coffee. "So," he says, while leaning against a table not currently holding anything sparking or sharp-edged, "There's a group from M.I.T. been sending Morse code messages via mirrors."

"Oh, yeah?" Tony investigates the sandwich plate and grabs a peanut butter and apple jelly one.

"An Air Force Colonel, a James Rhodes, has them organized. Fury says his ideas are sensible. He's going to rendezvous with us closer to the city, get our plans synchronized."

"Yeah, right." Tony finishes the sandwich and goes over to prod at something soaking in a bath of chemicals. "Strip, I need your clothes."

"What?"

"I know you're going to go all Gung Ho, and I haven't time to make you a suit like mine." Tony touches his chest. "But I can make you graphene body armor. It's a relatively new development, and I've played with it a bit. It's twice as hard as steel, six times lighter, and ten times higher in tensile strength. I can fuse a few dozen layers into your clothes. It won't be enough protection, but at least I won't feel I've thrown you naked to the wolves."

"You know, I wasn't protesting the nakedness," Steve says as he begins taking off his clothes. "But it seems unfair that you should be dressed while I'm not."

Tony blinks and opens his mouth and then shuts it again. "You are absolutely right." He goes to the shop door and locks it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nookie!

Steve kicks out of his boots and opens the zip on his trousers slowly. Now that he finally has Tony where he wants him, he wants to take his time. "What should I do with the clothes?"

Tony is watching him. "Hmm? Oh, yes. Give them here." Tony takes Steve's shirt and clips it to a rack suspended over the vat of chemicals. The rack lowers into the vat, and then emerges dripping with black liquid before passing through a series of compressed air blasts, and then back down into the vat. "It'll take a while."

"I'm in no hurry." Steve pushes his trousers off. His underpants are worn thin, and gray; they're at the perfect stage of comfort just before totally falling apart. He strokes himself through the fabric before taking them off. "You're not going to dip these, are you?"

"Ah. No." Tony moves close to Steve, reaching out to touch his chest, exploring with his fingers along each muscle group. "You're like an anatomy lesson. Seriously, you've got muscles in places I haven't even got places."

Steve grins and tugs gently at the hem of Tony's shirt. "I like that we're different. It's nice. You're nice."

"Nice." Tony shakes his head. "You really don't know me." He reaches up abruptly and peels off his shirt. The blue light glows brighter with nothing disguising it. Tony's torso is still heavily bruised, but he moves easily.

"I'd like to get to know you." Steve traces over a large purple-black bruise disappearing down into the jeans on Tony's right hip. "Later." He frowns. "Get your pants off. I need to see what I have to work with."

"You're so butch."

Steve laughs. "Well, someone's got to get the ball rolling." With one hand pressed to the crotch of Tony's trousers, Steve demonstrates. "I really am amazing in bed."

"All right, all right!" Tony heels off his shoes and lowers his trousers. His underpants are gray, too. Gray silk.

"I was right," Steve says after a moment. "Nice. Very nice." He fondles the bulge straining the gray silk and then goes to his knees, tugging the scrap of material down Tony's thighs. He'd really like to fuck Tony, but the bruises would be difficult to work around, and he sure doesn't want them to have to stop mid-way because he breaks Tony. Tony makes a strangled noise as Steve takes his cock in hand and begins tasting him with long, slow licks. Steve feels Tony's hands move restlessly over his shoulders and hair. He closes his eyes and concentrates on what he's doing. Maybe they'll only have this one chance, he wants to remember it all, the broken noises Tony is making, the fine tremor in the taut muscles of Tony's thighs, the firmness of Tony's ass under his other hand, the smell and taste of Tony, which is oddly a mixture of metal and coconut along with the usual flavor of an aroused, sweaty man. He likes the taste, it's unique, and he likes knowing something about Tony that maybe no one else knows. 

Tony groans and tugs at his hair. "I'm... close."

Steve sits back on his heels, letting Tony slip from his mouth. He strokes Tony's ass and thighs, trying to calm him. "Take a deep breath, Tony. I want you to wait for it. Can you do that for me?" 

Tony's head jerks in a no. "Maybe. It's... been a while."

"For me, too," Steve says soothingly. He's been ignoring his own arousal. Sometimes he likes to wait, to make himself appreciate it more. And then, again, sometimes he just wants to get off. He looks around and doesn't see anything remotely comfortable so he decides the slow options aren't really worth the effort. "Next time, baby." He pulls Tony back and sucks him down deep before Tony can protest the endearment, if he has a mind to be that stupid. Tony grabs his hair and pulls hard, but Steve ignores the pain, channeling it into excitement. Tony's legs spread wider and he begins rocking in and out of Steve's mouth. Steve takes that as an invitation and works one finger into Tony's hole.

"STEVE!" Tony stumbles as he arches his back and comes. Steve steadies him and swallows, licking to catch every drop of bittersweet coconut cream before he releases Tony and reaches down to pull at his own erection.

"No. Let me." Tony drops ungracefully to his knees, pushes Steve's hands out of the way and starts jerking him off. Tony's hands are cool and strong, and very clever. Steve holds out for barely a minute before his breath catches and he shoots, spattering Tony's chest and hands with come. Tony smiles and lets Steve push him back to lie flat on the floor. "I don't know ... that I'd call that amazing."

"Yeah, but I said, 'in bed', this isn't a bed." Steve leans over Tony to lick his come off Tony's chest. The metal and glass is cool under his tongue. For a moment Tony is tense beneath him, but then he relaxes, closing his eyes and letting his hands fall open at his sides.

"True," Tony replies. "I guess I'll have to give you another chance."

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the pathetically short chapter. Comcast v. frustrating- upload speed too low to even get a reading at Speedtest.net. So loading even a tiny bit takes ages. I keep asking Tony to buy Comcast and fix it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is a high-maintenance boyfriend.

Steve grins and sits up astride Tony. "I'll hold you to that." He gets up and offers Tony a hand up.

"What are you, superhuman or something? Let me just..."

"Lie there on the floor for a while?" Steve waggles his fingers until Tony takes his hand. 

"Yeah, no, not really, now that you mention it, this really isn't comfortable." Steve tugs and Tony gets to his feet, wincing. "Ow. Definitely I demand a bed next time."

"I'll make it a priority, right after kicking the blue guys out of the Big Apple."

"Big Apple? Do people still say that?" Tony wanders over towards the armor he was working on, and tugs up his goggles from where they'd fallen around his neck a few minutes ago.

"Tony."

"What?"

"You're not dressed for welding."

"I've got gloves around here somewhere." 

Steve gathers Tony's clothes. "Get dressed."

"Get naked, get dressed, make up your mind, Steve." Tony is prodding wires together. Steve watches for a moment, mesmerized by the play of muscle under the skin on Tony's ass as Tony shifts, then he shakes his head and shoves the bundle of clothes at Tony. "Hmm? Oh, yes." Tony starts getting dressed. "I almost forgot. I made you a little present. It's over there," Tony says, waving in a general way at the far wall.

"It's... a giant Frisbee?" Steve asks, taking down the brightly colored shallow dome and turning it over to discover straps at the hollow of the back. "Oh. A shield?"

"I got the idea from the pot lid you used to defend my honor. I used the bulk metallic glass method, so I could blow-mold it quickly. It's light, but stronger than conventional materials, made from an alloy I've been developing." Tony finds his shoes and puts them on. 

Steve slips his arm in under the straps and tries out the balance. "Thanks. But why did you... decorate it?"

"Mmm..." Tony is staring at Steve. Well, Steve thinks this isn't surprising, as he's standing there naked holding a red, white and blue giant Frisbee in front of himself. "Oh. Well, it's the same principle behind painting flies on urinals at airport terminals. The circles and the star will tempt the enemy to fire at the center, where it's strongest."

"Paint flies on urinals." Steve blinks and decides not to ask Tony to explain, because he probably would. "Yeah. Can you make more of these?"

"Not the shield, some of the essential elements are too rare- that one took all that Pepper could find. But the graphene cloth armor, yeah." Tony resumes working on his metal suit of armor. "Pepper has already got the secretarial pool copying the instructions. It's going to be spread along with the gas pump retrofit manual. Cottage industry returns to America."

"Good." Steve looks around the room. "While I wait for my clothes, is there anything I can do here?"

"Hmm." 

Steve sighs. Tony is back in not-listening mode. "Maybe I should go coordinate with Fury." 

"Yeah, good idea." Tony does something to the piece of armor and it opens and closes. He makes a satisfied sounding noise and resumes fiddling.

Steve looks around and finds a mechanic's coverall draped over one of the tables. He pulls it on, and takes the shield with him. Tony is a high-maintenance boyfriend, but at least he gives nice presents.

***

"Rhodes is in contact with Fort Dix," Fury said, while pointing out a map spread on a ping-pong table in a recreation center. "He managed to convince them of his bona fides, so that'll save us time."

Natasha leans over the map. "What reinforcements can we expect from Dix?"

"None. They went in soon after the invasion, just left a skeleton garrison behind." Fury looks grim. "Before they lost communications they reported they were being... frozen. Some kind of weapon. We have to presume them lost."

Clint taps at the map. "So we're after the weapons and stockpiled supplies?"

Fury nods. "They have guns, ammo, and tanks. Fortunately the hybrid diesel-electric model has yet to supercede the pure diesel. If we can locate and neutralize the 'freeze weapon' our ground forces will be able to move in and take control of key points. Then leap-frog in to the coordinates Stark has provided. If that's not the command center, it's something equally important."

Pepper is sitting nearby, taking notes. 

"This 'freeze weapon', does Rhodes have any more information on it?" Bruce asks. "If it's radiation-based, I may be able to do something about it."

Fury shuffles through a pile of notes. "Nothing very specific. It was observed in action and described as a 'ray', but we're talking third-hand reports."

"Tony may have seen it," Steve says, getting to his feet. "I'll go ask him."

"You do that." Fury scowls at the map. "It's going to take us at least a day to get to Dix. They're next to McGuire Air Force Base."

Pepper asks, "Are there any diesel airplanes there?"

"Unfortunately, no. And if there were, you couldn't fly them without the electronic instrumentation."

"So the enemy will retain air superiority," Natasha says as Steve leaves the room. He doesn't hear what reply, if any, Fury makes.

***

"Tony?" Steve stops in the middle of the doorway. Tony is wearing the red and gold armor, flexing his fingers and looking down at them. His face plate is up, and Steve can see the thoughtful look on his face. "Oh. Is it done?"

Tony turns to face him. "Yes. All done."

"Well, that's good. Bruce wants to talk to you."

"I'm a little busy right now, Steve." Tony puts his hands palms up. A light glows in each palm, brightening and then dimming as Tony lowers his hands. "I'll have to take a raincheck." Tony turns and walks towards the door.

"Why? Why not talk to him now?" Steve doesn't like the way Tony looks.

"Steve. I've got to go back, now. I can't wait for Fury's _army_. I'm the only thing stopping them from flying out of New York. If they haven't already begun spreading out, they're certainly not going to wait another day."

"Yes, I get that you're the whole US Air Force," Steve is angry. "But an air force needs ground support. While you're flying, they'll be shooting at you from all sides. You need us to protect your back."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not letting you out of here, Tony." Steve braces himself. "Not unless you go over me."

Tony smiles. "No." The faceplate snaps down, Tony turns to the side, raises his hands and blasts out the far window. 

"Don't do this!"

"I have to! I'll be back, Steve!" Tony's voice filters through the machine, but Steve can still hear the emotion in it. And then Tony leaps forward, light blazing from his boots and hands, and he's out the window and gone.

"DAMN IT!" Steve throws his shield in frustration. It takes out a good chunk of wall. Steve slides down to sit on the floor, staring at the diesel-powered machine still working to armor his clothes. He sighs. "Fury is going to love this."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Fury meets an old friend.

"Well," Fury says, scowling up into the sky at the vanishing speck of red and gold, "we have a diversion, whether we wanted one or not. I suggest we make the most of it." He turns to the kid standing next to him, a boy dressed in slightly grubby boy scout uniform. "Signal Colonel Rhodes to pass the word on to any friendly forces he can reach that things are going to be heating up very soon. Tell him the bird is in flight." 

"Yes, sir!" the boy snaps a Scout salute and starts climbing up a ladder to the roof, where a cheval mirror is set up, antique store sticker still prominent on the frame.

"I'm sorry, sir," Steve says. "I should..."

Fury waves off Steve's apologies. "It's done, let's just deal with it. Transport's fueled. Load up and let's ride." Fury stalks off, coat swirling around him with the force of his motion.

Clint shrugs and pats Steve on the arm. "Hey, not your fault that Stark's a steel-plated lemming."

"Yes," Natasha says with a straight face, "not at all like us sensible, cautious types."

"Can someone help me with these?" Bruce asks. He's carrying a pile of folded black clothing.

"What are they?" Pepper takes the top garment and shakes it out. It's apparently a jumpsuit, sized to fit a woman built like Natasha. 

"Armor," Steve says, helping Bruce sort it out. When they get through, there's a set of clothing to fit each of them, including Fury. "Tony must have made these earlier." Steve now thinks that whole scene in the workshop was an elaborate method of saying goodbye without actually saying it. He is really, really annoyed at Tony. "How did you find them?"

"They were left next to my equipment, with a note." Bruce unfolds a piece of paper and reads from it, "Wear these. I don't want to see any red-shirts on the team when I return."

Clint rolls his eyes. "Geek."

Bruce smiles, "Geek yourself, you recognized the Star Trek reference."

"I only watched it for the explosions... and the green dancing girls."

Pepper is already in the bus when they get on. She's sitting next to Fury and writing in her Day-Timer. Steve notices they're playing a game of hangman with a little armored shape taking form. Fair enough.

***

They arrive at Fort Dix just at sunset. The sound of the bus carries a long way, so no one is surprised to see a group of heavily-armed people in fatigues standing before the closed gates. A stocky, scraggly-bearded man is standing in front of the group, holding a pair of wickedly sharp-looking sabers in addition to all the guns and grenades strapped on him.

Fury leans his head out of a window. "You gonna get your asses out of the way, or we gonna run you over?"

"Well, hot damn, if it isn't General Fury himself, climbed up from the pit." The man with the sabers grins and lowers the weapons, sheathing them in one smooth move without glancing down. "I didn't believe Rhodes. I figured someone had to have killed you by now."

"I wouldn't let anyone else deprive you of the pleasure, Wolverine." Fury gets out of the bus and looks at the people behind Wolverine. "I see you've got a new group of misfits."

Wolverine grins around an unlit cigar. "Yeah, they call us the X-unit. Told us to stay home and mind the store." Wolverine growls. "Said we weren't disciplined. Yeah, and a fat lot of good discipline did them."

"But you stayed."

"Yeah, well... the last thing my C.O. said... well, y'know, we figured we'd stay here until we ran out of beer."

"Speaking of beer." Clint leans precariously out of a window. "Can we come in and share the wealth?"

"Yeah, sure, why not." Wolverine gestures at his people, one at a time, but quickly. "Storm's got a bit of a temper, not mild-mannered like me, so don't rile her. That's Cyclops in the designer shades- he's our pretty boy for publicity photos." Cyclops shoots Wolverine the bird. Wolverine ignores him and goes on to point out, "Iceman always keeps his cool even though he's still a wet-behind-the-ears punk, so we let him hang out with us. Angel and Phoenix can fly anything-- only we ain't got anything for them to fly, so they're gonna settle for a couple of tanks now that we can fuel 'em. And then there's Beast." The last man is a good seven feet of solid muscle, barely squeezed into the largest fatigues the army supplies. "They feed 'em good where he comes from." Wolverine looks at Fury again, totally serious this time. "They're a good bunch. Just point us in the right direction and we'll carve a hole you can drive your damn bus through." Wolverine turns and begins pushing half the gate open. Beast takes the other side and opens it. "Bring your girlfriends on in, Fury. The kegger's about to start."

***

Fury is a good commander. He knows when the troops not only need to let off steam, they need to see their commander is human enough to join them. Steve leaves the dining room while Fury and Wolverine are competing at five-finger fillet much to the detriment of the mess table, Storm and Natasha are doing something that looks like the Russian saber dance, and Cyclops, Clint and Iceman are playing darts with an imaginative nude drawing of one of blue guys (Steve provided it, with many suggestions from the peanut gallery. He really didn't think even aliens need two dicks _and_ four breasts, but hey... whatever, the scoring is amusing.). The two pilots are singing something that would probably be quite dirty if they weren't so drunk that they kept stopping to argue over the lyrics. Pepper looks up from an intense discussion she's having with Beast- Steve doesn't know what they're talking about, and from the hand gestures they've been making, he's pretty sure he doesn't want to know. Pepper gives him a nod, which he choses to read as sympathetic, and then returns to her conversation. The only one missing is Bruce who had started to look a little green around the gills earlier and excused himself to cool off outside.

Steve follows a fresh path through the snow until he finds Bruce, sitting on the hood of a jeep cross-legged, in meditative pose. His face is turned up to the night sky, which is for once not blanketed by snow-bearing clouds. There are so many stars, the sky glitters. He says, softly, "It's amazing how much difference the lack of light pollution makes."

"At least this must be making the astronomers happy," Steve remarks, leaning towards Bruce to offer him a beer.

"Thanks." Bruce takes the beer and has a sip. "I doubt they're happy about the observatories not working."

"Yeah." Steve drinks some of his own beer and scans the sky. He's not looking for stars. "Well, nothing's perfect."

Bruce laughs shortly. "You know, I just can't figure out where they came from. There's nothing like them on Earth, so they must be alien. Someone should have seen something, even if it was reported...oh... yeah... reported as a meteor."

"You really think they came in on meteors? I've looked at a lot of them. They're just rocks."

"Well, the meteor swarm could have been cover for a ship. Or ships. But I think there must have been only one. Tony..." Bruce pauses, and then continues, "he said not only was there a center to the ...activity... but there's no sign of them anywhere else on the planet. The ice age and electricity failure is global, but their forces are all in New York City."

"That's strange, if you're planning to take over the world," Steve agrees and has more beer. He's a big man, and it takes a lot to get him drunk. He's not even approaching mellow.

"Strange," Bruce replies and drinks. "But it's good. For us, I mean." He flexes his hands. "If you can get me close, and get me angry, maybe I can end this."

Steve looks at Bruce. "Tony's bad enough playing the martyr, don't you start in, Bruce. We're a team. We work together. No one is expendable." He puts his hand on Bruce's shoulder and gives him a companionable squeeze.

They're still drinking, and watching the sky when one falling star comes to land in front of them on one bended knee, like a futuristic knight offering a courtesy to his liege. The armor is scorched and still smoking in a few places. The faceplate lifts and Tony grins at Steve. He spreads his arms. "Miss me?"

"MISS ME? You pull a fool stunt like that, and that's all you have to say for yourself?" Steve goes over to Tony who is looking at him apprehensively. "Yes, I missed you." Steve kisses Tony awkwardly. Tony puts his armored hands on Steve's ass and pulls him closer.

Bruce gets off the hood and heads back inside, muttering something about drunken soldiers being more soothing company.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fury considers forgiving Tony.

It's probably a good thing that Bruce goes into the dining hall first and tells them that Tony has returned. Steve has to resist the urge to duck when the X-unit turns as one, producing an assortment of weapons, all aimed at Tony. "Stand down!" Fury snaps, and after a heartbeat, Wolverine makes a gesture, and the weapons vanish back into concealment. 

"This part of your glee club, Fury?" Wolverine asks. He walks up to Tony, and then circles around him. "Shiny. Get him out of a claw machine?"

Fury gives Tony a look. "Yeah. Rogers won the prize. I'm not sure he was worth the quarter."

Tony lifts his chin defensively. "Hey, you need me."

Fury gets up from the table. "You may think you're the big gun around here, but to me, you're just a loose cannon. I have _enough_ problems. I do not need to deal with your attitude and whatever issues you have that you think are more important than saving the world!" Fury walks past everyone, picking up Wolverine with a glance. "We're going to the armory. Gonna see what we have to work with, that we can rely on."

Wolverine rolls his eyes at Tony before he follows Fury out the door. "Good work, bub, pissing off Fury is always a smart move."

Steve gets a grip on Tony's arm. "Don't, Tony."

"What? You don't know what I was going to say."

"Yeah, it doesn't matter. Just, don't. Come on, I'll introduce you around. The man who left with Fury is Wolverine. He's the X-unit's leader."

Cyclops snorts. "Only because he won't follow anyone else's orders."

"That's Cyclops," Steve says. He's still holding onto Tony's armor-covered arm as he points everyone out. "Why don't you get out of the armor and have something to eat?"

Tony looks warily around the room. No one is looking at him with joy. "You know, I think I'm comfortable like this."

Fury returns while Tony is eating. He's carrying his hybrid gun, cradled in his arms. Tony looks up from his chicken fajita MRE. "I see you still have your pocket rocket. Want me to whip up some ammo for it?"

Fury grunts, taking the peace offering as intended, and puts the gun on the table. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, Stark."

Tony grins and pats the gun. "I hate seeing a poor toothless baby. Sure, I'll be happy to do it." Tony starts to get up. 

Fury waves at him. "Sit your ass back down. First, I want to know what happened today."

Tony's metal shoulders shrug. "Same old, same old. I played tag with the blue boys in the air. New York's citizens in a fine display of enjoying their second amendment right to bear arms and shoot the shit out of anything in their neighborhood continued harassing the ground forces." Tony tilts his head, looking thoughtful. "They did seem more organized, but that was only a general impression. I'll have to ask Jarvis for an analysis."

"Jarvis?" Steve asks. He doesn't want to interrupt, now that there's a fragile peace between Tony and Fury, but something oddly like jealousy strikes him at the fondness in Tony's voice when he says the name.

"My A.I. A computer... personality, if you don't mind being technically inaccurate." Tony taps the side of his helmet. "Flight control, systems management, and a lot more. Jarvis gathers information constantly, too much for me to assimilate, and filters out everything except the essentials." The faceplate goes down and Tony's voice has mechanical overtones as he says, "Jarvis, you up for analysis of today's action?"

"Ready as ever, sir." 

Steve blinks. Tony's computer is British and sounds like a high-class butler. He's not sure why that surprises him. Tony _would_ have an electronic butler, so why not a British one and why not have it help him run his battle armor? It sort of makes Tony-sense.

"Go to it, then. General Fury would like any tactical information you can give him."

"There is little hard data, sir. I would be forced to extrapolate."

"Extrapolate away. At this point, we've got nothing but guesses to go on, anyway."

"Very well, sir." There is a pause and then Jarvis says, "The 'blue boys' are primarily defending a central point. Their tactics are simple, but their resources and numbers are overwhelmingly strong."

"Yeah, I know that, Jarvis. What about our side? What's up with that?"

"Speculation points to a high probability that there is a unifying force, directing the human ground forces. There is a precision in many of the encounters which not only speaks of training, but of coordination amongst many units. While their armaments and maneuverability are far inferior to the enemy, they have nonetheless inflicted significant damage, and appear to be attempting to contain the incursion within the original area."

Fury nods. "That it?"

"That is all I can say with any degree of probability. Much of my data collection and processing power was devoted to maintaining the Iron Man armor," Jarvis sounds slightly apologetic.

The faceplate goes up again. "Yeah. I kept Jarvis kinda busy," Tony says. "That's all he's got."

Fury turns his eye on Tony. "Iron Man?"

"Well, really, it's more of a nickname. Gold-titanium Man doesn't roll trippingly off the tongue, does it?" Tony grins at Steve and pushes the MRE aside. "So, you want me to go find the leader of the resistance?"

Fury shakes his head. "That's a subtle diplomatic job, Stark. You're not qualified."

"I'm hurt, deeply, deeply hurt, by your lack of faith."

"Go make me ammo." Fury gets up from the table and looks at Steve. "Remember we're leaving at dawn. Barracks three isn't being used. Get some rest."

Tony looks at Steve. "The man has previously unsuspected subtleties. Anyone else would have just..."

Steve looks at Tony. "First, make Fury happy with some ammo. Then you can apologize to me properly."

Tony grins. "I can do that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter tonight- tomorrow I'm hoping to see The Avengers. YAY. I'm *reasonably* sure that won't affect this story which is so AU it can't be messed up by anything Joss does. IF there wind up to be any similarities (beyond bits I picked up from watching the movie clips that are all over the place) it will be pure coincidence as I DO have the general plot outlined already.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit more Steve/Tony nookie.

Steve is rather impressed by how quickly Tony assembles ammo to fit Fury's gun. "You're good at that."

Tony glances up at Steve then returns to deftly sealing and stacking pointy-ended cylinders. "Used to be the family trade. Making things that go bang. I don't do that anymore. Well, special orders for friends excluded."

"Fury is your friend?"

"Let me rephrase that, 'for friends and people I can be reasonably sure won't use my own guns to shoot _me_ in the ass'. Fury wouldn't waste a round on me. He could probably kill me with his pinky, when I'm not wearing the suit."

"No, he wouldn't." 

"He might, if he thought it would serve the greater good." 

Steve has no reply to that, because it's obviously true.

Tony puts one last cylinder in a crate. "And so would you." Tony smiles. "But I'm fairly sure it won't come to that."

"Is that what you really think? That because we're soldiers all we care about is the goal?"

"No. I just think you've learned to do what you have to do, whether or not you like it." Tony picks up the crate, the armor amplifying his strength to make it effortless.

"Tony." Steve puts a hand on Tony's shoulder. "If you think so little of me, then why..."

"You won't stab me in the back, and you won't lie to me. What we have... whatever it is... is honest. That's why." Tony grins. "Let me give Fury his toys, and then I'll meet you at barracks three."

***

"Maybe this isn't a good idea," Steve says once they break from the first kiss to breathe. Tony had come in and taken off his metal suit with amazing rapidity, and then claimed Steve's mouth while Steve was still mulling over their recent conversation. Tony is obviously a very needy person, and Steve has been taking advantage of his weakness.

"Mmm hmm," Tony replies before pushing up Steve's shirt. "Bad ideas are my specialty."

"I mean," Steve's voice is muffled as the shirt goes over his head and Tony takes the opportunity to suck on his nipples. "Fury is counting on me using our relationship to influence you."

"Uh huh." Tony nips a line across Steve's chest. "You have the most amazing body. I want to map it and put little 'Tony was here' markers everywhere."

"Kilroy. It's Kilroy was here." Steve is holding onto his self-control, but it's not easy as Tony's hands continue their journey of exploration.

"I'm not the jealous type. So long as Roy isn't here now, that's fine by me. Oh, look, that opens. And there's a prize inside!" Tony plays with what he's found.

Steve moans. "Oh, damn. Tony. I don't...don't want to use you."

"Oh, ok, that's good, that's fine. How about I use you, and then you can have a clear conscience?" Tony tugs on his handful of totally agreeable Steve. "I found something in supplies. Non-toxic, guaranteed! I knew studying chemistry would come in useful one day."

"Do you ever... stop talking?"

"Sometimes." Tony tugs harder. "Hey, come on, we have privacy and something resembling a bed-- well, if we push a few of them together. And baby, it's cold in here, we need to warm up. Hypothermia is such a sad, sad, way to die."

Steve isn't following events too closely, as Tony keeps distracting him with his mouth, his words, his tongue, his teeth, and most definitely his hands. Tony's hands tell Steve's body that everything is all right, and all he has to do is go along for the ride. Steve flails once as he falls back onto a cot.

"Do you like getting fucked?" Tony pushes another cot next to Steve's, and quickly lashes them together somehow. He peels off his own shirt and taps on the blue light in his chest. "Because, you know, we don't have to do that if it's not your thing. Or you could fuck me." 

Steve sighs and puts his hands up in surrender. "Yes, Tony, I love getting fucked." Tony has picked up some new bruises to add to the old ones, and while the rainbow-colored skin doesn't make him ugly in Steve's eyes, it does do very unpleasant things to the pit of his stomach. He's not sure he even _could_ fuck someone who looks so battered. He pulls his mind away from memories of his mother, and his father when he'd had a few too many. That's not him, and Tony certainly isn't his mother. Steve is fairly sure anyone who hurts Tony would find themselves deeply regretting it almost immediately. He spreads his legs. "Come here and make love to me."

"Well, since you ask so nicely, how could I refuse?" Tony kicks off his shoes and slithers out of his jeans. "I couldn't find any condoms, so you're just going to have to take my word that I'm clean."

"Aren't you going to ask me the same question?"

"Oh, sure. Steve, am I safe in fucking your gorgeous ass? Please say yes." Tony has a tube in his hand. He opens it and strokes something shiny on his erection, while looking at Steve. "Because I really, really want to and if you say no I'll probably cry, or at least give you the puppydog eyes until you feel like a terrible person."

Steve laughs. "Come here and let me warm you up." 

Tony obliges, lying full length on top of Steve. "My god, you're like a space heater." Tony wriggles against Steve. "How hot are you inside?"

"I don't know." Steve pulls Tony down for a kiss with plenty of tongue. "Why don't you find out?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do that. Can you just... push up here, and... yeah. Like that. For a big man, you're amazingly flexible. Can you get both knees over my shoulders? Oh, yes. Perfect."

Steve strokes his hands lightly down Tony's sides. "I like you, Tony."

Tony pauses with two fingers up Steve's ass. "I like you too, Steve."

"I just wanted you to know, it's not just because you're pretty." Steve wishes he could take back the words the moment they're out of his mouth.

Tony laughs. "I'm glad to know you're not shallow." He works another finger into Steve. "Very glad. Now let me prove it."

"Yeah, come on, I'm ready." And he is, even though he hasn't done this in months, hasn't even felt like using toys. He wants to feel Tony inside him. "Don't take it slow."

"I thought you were going to show me how amazing you are in a proper bed?"

"An army cot is not a proper bed." And Tony is still shivering. Steve rubs his legs against Tony's back. "Why are we talking and not fucking?"

"Damned if I know." Tony lines up and pushes in, watching Steve's face all the while. "All right?"

"Yeah, it's fine. It's good." Steve smiles. "Go on, you can move. You won't hurt me."

Tony takes a sharp breath and starts moving, slow at first, and then faster. Steve watches his face. He hadn't been able to see Tony's expression when he sucked him off before. Tony is fierce and focused, and sexy as all hell. Steve moans and moves with him, ignoring the threatening sway and creak of the cots. It's good, so good. Tony's back is warming beneath his legs, the blue light in Tony's chest makes shadows move over both of them, and Tony feels amazing deep inside him, filling up all the cold hollow places Steve tries not to think about, all the loneliness, all the nights when just being alive wasn't enough, but it was all he had.

"Tony!" he shouts as he comes, and he holds onto Tony with his arms and his legs, holds tight until Tony shudders against him and falls to lie on him, cool, too cool even now. He kisses the top of Tony's head. "I've got you."


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve finally get to the Big Apple.

"We'll be linking up with Colonel Rhodes' group here, at dawn tomorrow." Fury says, pointing out a location with one finger pressed on the map spread over a tank tread, raising his voice enough to be heard over the rumble of its engine. The sun has risen just enough so Steve can read the map. Everyone else is gathered around close enough to hear what Fury has to say. "From there we'll go on to the city, but bivouac just beyond the perimeter of current hostilities while Barton and Romanov penetrate enemy lines and locate the leader of the human ground forces."

"That could take days," Tony protests. He's back in the armor, and Steve is frankly surprised he's stayed long enough for breakfast, let alone the mission briefing.

"It might." Fury rolls the map up and hands it to Pepper. "But we can't afford to just march in blindly shooting."

"Let me go in ahead."

Fury gives Tony a look. "You don't seem to need my permission to do anything, Mr. Stark."

Tony raises his hands, with the palms up towards the sky and shrugs. "Technically, I never joined your little marching band society, so yeah, but I'm not stepping on your toes on purpose. I can fly in low, under their radar, or whatever they're using, and then..."

"Walk up to a trigger happy group of vigilantes dressed like a killer robot from outer space," Clint says. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan."

Tony scowls at Clint. "Fine, I'll take off my helmet."

Natasha smiles. "That would seem to negate the advantage of your armor."

Tony rolls his eyes. "FINE. I'll wave a white flag and sing the Star-Spangled Banner... or maybe America the Beautiful, it's easier."

Steve clears his throat. "How much extra weight can you carry?"

"I know what you're thinking and the answer is no," Tony says. "I'm a target, but I'm a well-protected target. The blue guys' weapons would puree anyone I carried with me."

"Not if you're flying under their radar, and peacefully meeting with human forces. And I'll be wearing the graphene armorcloth and my shield, of course." Steve smiles serenely. "So."

"Weight's not a problem, but I have jets on my back, and I need my arms free for maneuvering, so there's no _place_ for you to ride on me, however creative you want to be." There is a moment of silence and then Steve smiles wickedly.

Bruce sighs. "I wish you hadn't said that."

***

"This is great!" Steve shouts against the wind. The X-unit had adapted a parachute harness to strap him to the belly of Tony's suit. With his shield fastened to his stomach, Steve was protected from most of the force, but enough got by to make normal conversation impossible. 

"You're crazy!"

Steve laughs and spreads his arms out, not quite wide enough to interfere with Tony's. "I feel like an eagle!"

"Yeah." Tony rolls them over in a series of barrel rolls. Steve laughs throughout, watching the land and sky spin and change places like dancers.

***

Tony sets down slowly, balancing to land on both feet in the debris of a shattered brick building. "Jarvis says there's movement six blocks north of here. They probably saw us coming down."

Steve begins undoing the harness straps. "Good, so we'll wait here and let them approach." When he's free he moves the shield to hold in one arm, a machine pistol ready in the other hand. "Any sign of the enemy?"

"According to Jarvis, they're still contained near the city center." Tony turns slowly in his metal suit. "No indication that they've detected our arrival."

Steve sits on a slab of broken cement. "Well, nothing to do but wait."

Tony sits on the other side of the slab, facing away from Steve. "Huh. I think I recognize the neighborhood. That used to be a reasonably good coffee shop. Their doughnuts were terrible, though."

"So, you're a New York City boy, too?"

"Yeah. I was, before I moved to California. Still own property here. Well, I did. By now, I own smoking holes in the ground."

"Maybe not."

"I think I may have kinda bombed my own mansion the other day."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, I'm fairly sure the insurance doesn't cover arson even if you were blowing up invading aliens at the time." Tony waves a hand. "Hi, guys, please don't shoot. Steve, the neighborhood welcome committee has arrived."

"I noticed them watching us a minute ago." Steve continues smiling. "They're good, but it's hard to be quiet in all this rubble."

A man wearing a hodge-podge of semi-military clothing emerges from behind a heap of brick and steel beams. He's holding a very large rifle aimed at Steve. "What do you want?"

"Take us to your leader," Tony says and the man shifts the gun to follow him. 

"You an alien under there?"

"No, I've just always wanted to say that."

"You're not helping, Tony," Steve says carefully. "Look, my friend has an unfortunate sense of humor. You've seen him fighting the aliens."

"Yeah. But he never came down and talked with us before." Several other men emerge from hiding. Steve notices that while their clothing is a mishmash, they all have a stylized hand-held hammer patch applied to the chest or sleeve.

"My invitation must have been lost in the mail," Tony says.

Steve turns and gives Tony a look which he's pretty sure Tony can see despite the armor. "Tony, will you stop annoying the nice men we've been sent to meet?" He turns back to the man who first appeared. "General Fury sent us to find whoever is in charge of the resistance, so we can pool our resources and coordinate our efforts."

"Mr. Osborn's in charge of Hammer. We're going to save the Earth."

Steve brings an elbow back to land with a clang against Tony's armor, forestalling the smart-ass remark he would bet money Tony had been about to say. "General Fury would be glad to lend what assistance he can, I'm sure. We have a few tanks, some mortars and of course, Tony." Steve smiles. "Do you think we could meet Mr. Osborn and discuss where we could fit into his plans?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Osborn is not a very nice person.

"I wonder if this leader is _Norman_ Osborn?" Tony says quietly to Steve, as they are led to a meet point, ducking under and around rubble, the sound of fighting a constant peppering like irregular hail in the distance. "If it's him, I can understand how he put together this organization so quickly. Oscorp is... was... run like a paramilitary operation."

"Aren't most successful businessmen ruthless?" Steve is watching their escort as well as their surroundings. In an effort to make them more comfortable with him, Tony has his faceplate lifted, so he's not using Jarvis to scan the area, Steve thinks. He's not really sure how it works, but he's noticed that Tony always lowers the faceplate to talk to Jarvis.

"Ruthless, vindictive, petty and greedy. But not that many organizations have a true leader cult. At Stark Enterprises, people call me 'sir', but behind my back, well, they don't salute. At least not with more than one finger."

"Somehow, I wouldn't expect... decorum... to be a large part of anything to do with you, Tony."

***

"Norman," Tony says when they finally enter a basement, fitfully lit by kerosene lamps, none placed near shadowy crates that smell of oil and gunpowder. 

The tall man at the far end of the room straightens and lowers the map he's holding. "Tony Stark. So you're the man in the iron suit. I should have guessed, but I thought you'd abandoned New York after your parents died. But then I've heard that things didn't turn out well for you in California with Obadiah either, did they?"

Steve sees Tony flinch and finds himself having to control a sudden urge to punch Osborn in the mouth. Obviously his words were perfectly calculated to hurt Tony to the point he didn't even have a snappy comeback. Vindictive and petty, indeed. "Mr. Osborn, I'm Steve Rogers, USMC. My commanding officer, General Fury, has instructed me to acquaint you with some facts." Steve doesn't see the point in mentioning that he'd finished his tour of duty several years ago, or that he'd met Fury only a few weeks ago. Once a Marine, always a Marine. "Tomorrow we will be bringing in reinforcements. Thanks to Mr. Stark we now have several fully fueled and armed tanks and the ability to procure more once we have personnel trained in their use. Colonel Rhodes will also be arriving with a contingent of engineers tomorrow. A call-up for experienced soldiers is underway, and we anticipate the first arrivals within a few days. The General expects that you will provide us with full details of your situation, with particular reference to any intel you have been able to gather on the enemy's so-called 'freeze weapon'. Mr. Stark and Dr. Bruce Banner will need that information if they are to develop a counter for it." Steve stands at ease, letting his Marine heritage show. A Marine is not petty or vindictive. He is simply there to win the war, and you don't get in his way if you want to keep breathing.

Osborn scowls. "I've tried to find an answer to the freeze weapon. It's impossible- whatever it's based on doesn't seem to follow any physical laws I know. It would be better if Tony spent his time making suits like that one. I've seen him fly through the freeze ray, unaffected."

"The suit stays unique," Tony says. "No offense, Norman, but I'm not prepared to let this particular genie out of the bottle." Steve is glad to see that Tony isn't backing down from Osborn. "Dr. Banner's work is unparalleled. I think he'll surprise you. Give us lab space and backing, that's all we ask."

"If we work as a team," Steve adds, "there's nothing we can't accomplish."

Osborn looks sour, but he nods. "All right. My people will remain under my sole command, and any units that become incorporated into my forces will also look only to me for orders. I won't have things revert to chaos. This Fury may be a general, but he's not the general of this city." Osborn puts his hands on the table in front of him, flattening the map. "I am. New York is mine. When no one else was here to fight for it, I brought the people together. We're winning."

Steve isn't at all sure he believes that, but he's not going to point that out at the moment. Getting Osborn's cooperation is worth indulging his ego. "I can see that, Mr. Osborn."

"I'll coordinate with Fury to get this over with sooner, but the outcome was never in doubt. Understand that. I don't need you or your tanks, or your general. If you cross me, you'll be on your own, and you can go back to whatever hole you've been hiding in the past few months." Osborn looks down at the map again. "My people will show you the way to the lab, Tony. You may take your bodyguard with you, if you like."

Steve swallows his annoyance at the abrupt dismissal, and is just glad that Tony has kept quiet. "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Osborn." He turns and walks out at Tony's side.

"Oscorp was always a _fun_ place," Tony says quietly to Steve.

"Yeah, I bet he makes a great Santa at the Christmas party."

***

Steve pauses in the middle of his report to Fury when he hears the now familar sound of a pair of sneakers hitting assorted surfaces at different heights, rapidly. "Messenger," he says and turns, trying to, for once, figure out how the hell Osborn's favorite messenger gets through the city so quickly. They've been here a week, and the only explanation he's been able to get is that Parker is [ an urban parkour.](http://www.bofunk.com/video/10934/amazing_city_parkour.html) He swears sometimes he thinks the guy is clinging to walls by sheer force of will. Two seconds later, Parker lands in a crouch in the doorway, sweat plastering his red t-shirt to his wiry torso. He grins up at Steve through the huge goggles he wears against dust. "Hey, Cap, Fury, how's it going?"

"Great, Peter." Steve says.

"What have you got for me?" Fury asks. Steve thinks Fury has a sneaking fondness for Peter, and would love to enlist him in the Corps. Tony likes Peter, too, and has offered him a place in Stark R&D, which would pay more, and allow him to jump all over the city whenever he feels like it. Everyone likes Peter, except Osborn, but then, Osborn is a bully, and doesn't really like anyone. He does get dedication from his people, but it feels unhealthy to Steve, not like esprit de corps, but more like fanaticism. Maybe that's the kind of man they needed to unite New York's disparate populace, but it makes Steve uneasy, knowing this man has so much power.

"Reports on troop movements and a request for more armor-piercing rounds for the tanks." Peter hands over a folded piece of paper and then holds up a small camera. "I've also got footage of the snow-cone machine. It's a bit blurry, but you know, they hate the paparazzi, so I had to keep moving."

Steve frowns, but doesn't call Peter on the extra risk he's taken. They need all the information they can get on the freeze ray.

"And I got a few nice shots of your boyfriend playing King Kong on the Chrysler building." Parker grins. "Want I should print it up?"

Fury gives Parker a not-quite-glare. "Get the data to Banner in the lab. No. Rogers, you take it. I want to discuss acceptable risk with our young friend here."

Peter looks momentarily chastened as he hands Steve the camera. "Better you than me. Osborn's been hanging out in the lab. The guy gives me the creeps."

***

"Bruce," Steve says when he enters the lab to discover Bruce standing in a stiff-backed position, breathing hard, obviously only a few moments away from transforming into his alter-ego. "what's wrong?" He looks around, and doesn't see anything that looks out of place, or broken, and there's no smell of acid or smoke, which makes it a good day for a lab shared by Bruce and Tony.

"Nothing." Bruce straightens slowly. His complexion loses its green tinge and returns to normal. "Just... Osborn."

"Yeah. It probably wouldn't be good to crush him," Steve doesn't quite keep the regret out of his tone. "What's he done now?"

"Nothing in particular, he is actually quite brilliant. He's just... well, I'm used to working with eccentric people- at my level of expertise you pretty much _expect_ it. Minds capable of understanding the forces I work with are... different. Tony's eccentric, but we get along fine, we understand each other- there's no malice. Mr. Osborn... the man has a thin layer of civilization over a vast reservoir of pure meanness." Bruce takes a deep breath and rakes his fingers through his hair. "And for some reason, he's fixated on Tony's suit. He's been studying it all along, and he's built his own replica."

"Huh." Steve has to admit to being mildly impressed. Under the circumstances, that's an amazing accomplishment. "So, he wants Tony's advice, and Tony refuses."

"He wants Tony's power source." Bruce looks up at Steve. "Tony agreed to help him get it working enough to use as unpowered battle armor, but he's not satisfied with that. So he comes by and they argue. And now he's trying to convince me into talking Tony into it."

"Don't do it."

"Don't worry." Bruce smiles suddenly. "Osborn can't really apply pressure to me, you know." He glances around the lab. "I'm going to shut down here and let the big guy go out and play catch with Tony for a while."

Steve nods. The Hulk's collateral damage is huge and he has a tendency to bash buildings at random, but at least he knows who his friends are. "The X-unit is working with Matt Murdock's group in Hell's Kitchen today." Steve quite admires Murdock. Anyone who can organize the hell-raisers is fearless, and tough as nails, but then, the man was practically brought up in a gym by his boxer father, or so Steve's been told. Murdock's mastery of martial arts makes him a match, hand to hand, with the blue giants. "I'll escort you." Steve shifts his shield. "Oh, and Fury said that he'd like it if you could capture one of their flying 'sleds'. He wants to know if you and Tony can figure out what powers them- or at least how we can use them ourselves."

"I'll try, but you know..." Bruce grins and flexes a flash of green biceps, "they break so easily."


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Osborn continues to be not at all a nice person.

Steve is kept too busy to have much time for Tony, but he manages to check in on the lab at least once each evening, to make sure the scientists eat. Bruce is better than Tony about remembering his body's needs, because it's harder for him to keep control when he's tired and hungry, but Tony often diverts him with 'one more test run'. Since Tony's powering the equipment, he usually gets his way.

This time Steve has thought to include some extra MRE desserts. The mere mention of Apple-Cinnamon and Chocolate Banana usually reminds Tony's brain that it's attached to an empty stomach. Even before he enters the lab he knows Tony's not there. The light coming from the cracks around the door is kerosene yellow, not the greenish-white of fluorescent lighting. There wouldn't be any light at all if the lab was vacant, so he knocks and enters. "Hey, Bruce."

"Oh. Hi, Steve." Bruce looks up from a notebook, where he's transferring data from a pile of loose sheets of paper. 

Steve puts the MREs on the table by Bruce. "How'd you get Tony to quit early?"

"I didn't." Bruce opens an MRE without looking at the label. "Osborn came by again for more help with his suit. He said that he'd come up with an alternative power source, and he wanted Tony's opinion on it before he tested it." Bruce separates the MRE packets and starts preparing the parts that need heating or water added.

"He's still on that?" Steve frowns. Tony doesn't get enough sleep as it is between fighting in the daylight hours and working in the lab at night. So does Bruce, of course, but Bruce isn't Steve's sometimes lover. And probably Bruce is just that least little bit more _sensible_ than Tony and he knows when to quit before he falls over.

Bruce nods. "I've seen the suit. He's got the thing painted in red, white and blue. He calls it the 'Iron Patriot.' It's really..." Bruce shrugs, stirs his food and starts eating.

"Well, if he can get it to work, we could use the additional air support," Steve says, even though he doesn't trust Osborn not to misuse it after the war. After the war, though, no point in borrowing trouble. He peels open a Chocolate Banana dessert and has a bite. And then both he and Bruce drop their food at the nearby sound of repulsor fired takeoff. "What the hell is Tony thinking?" Steve runs outside with Bruce only a few steps behind. "We can't give him ground support at night! They'll slaughter him!"

Bruce grabs Steve's arm and points at a flare of light rising into the sky, trailing behind a familiar red and gold figure. "Look, there he is!"

"Tony, you idiot." Steve sees the path it's taking, right into the heart of the most heavily defended area, heading straight for the central coordinates, the source of the weather control and electric negating whatever it is. Steve's heart is in his throat as he watches. If Tony can get through, destroy that... "NO!" he shouts as a cloud of enemy fliers surround Tony and fire as one. The blast is so bright it turns the night to day. "No," Steve says softly, barely aware that Bruce is growling and growing to roar his rage into the sky.

***

Steve hates Osborn even more the next morning when he marches out in his flag-painted armor to announce that he'll be taking over Iron Man's role in the defense. Osborn smiles as he says, "Luckily, last night Mr. Stark was able to assist me with the last refinements I needed to make this possible." He pats the white star-shaped light shining in his chest piece, then flips down his face plate and takes off. The Hammer troops are already in position, working to protect him, leaving themselves open to return fire.

Next to Steve, Wolverine growls and spits a chewed up cigar butt to the ground. "Asshole." He slaps Steve on the back. "C'mon, you get your guys and come with the X-unit. We're not following Osborn."

"We still need him."

"Maybe you can smile at the bastard, but I can't stand the stink of him. He climbs on corpses. And he doesn't like anyone bein' more popular than him. His men like you, Cap. Maybe you'll be the next to go on a suicide mission."

"You don't think he forced Tony to do that."

Wolverine shrugs. "Dunno. Stark was crazy enough to think he could take on the world by himself. And him not even a Marine. But it sure was convenient timing, is all I can say." He produces another cigar and lights it. "Rhodes won't work under his command, either. You can't trust the Hammer at your back. Go talk to Fury, see what he says." Wolverine stalks off.

***

"Much as it pains me to admit it, I agree with Wolverine," Fury says. "The situation is delicate. Banner's other side is only thing that's keeping Osborn from demanding I break up your team to integrate into his forces. The Hulk doesn't like him."

Steve nods. "The big guy isn't stupid."

"I'm keeping Potts out of combat as my supply sergeant, and I want you to take Barton, Romanov, and Banner to join the X-unit. I'm sure I can make Osborn agree that your unique skill sets work better in a less traditional unit. I'll give him a few dozen of the most experienced volunteers to make the medicine more palatable."

"Thank you, sir."

"I don't like losing good men pointlessly. I surely do not like that, Captain Rogers." Fury looks down at the map he's holding and then up at Steve. "It makes me very angry."

"Yes, sir." Steve swallows hard. "Me, too."

"We have to use that anger productively, not waste it fighting among ourselves. Can you do that?"

"I'll try, sir."

After a moment, Fury nods. "Dismissed."

Steve salutes and leaves.

***

Bruce nods when Steve tells him they're shifting their base. "I can't do much more research without power, so I might as well stay on the front line. Osborn said he'd make another power source so I could use the equipment, but it'll take a few weeks. I don't think he really intends to do it."

"Yeah. You might save the human race instead of him."

There is the sound of repulsors firing and then the thump of something heavy landing just outside the building. Steve turns, irrationally hopeful for a moment, before Osborn strides in wearing the Iron Patriot suit. "Banner. Rogers." Osborn nods, smiling. "Glad I caught you before you moved out. Fury is letting sentiment stand in the way of his best judgment. I need experienced people leading my troops, and I need Banner working to neutralize the freeze-weapon."

"I'm sorry, sir," Steve says, "but I have my orders." 

Osborn turns his attention to Bruce. "What about you? You're not a soldier, you're a research scientist!"

"I can't do much without power."

Osborn looks thoughtful. "I have another power unit. I'd been keeping it to run other equipment, but perhaps it would be better served here."

"Well..." Bruce looks torn. "I don't know..."

"Outta the way, bub, you're holding up progress." Wolverine enters the lab, brushing past Osborn as if he barely noticed the large metal suit. "Yo, Banner, Fury sent me to help you haul your ass. And to make sure you pack extra stretchy pants. No one wants to see your Jolly Green Giant bouncing around the place." Wolverine picks up a crate and turns to face Osborn for the first time. "Oh, hey, lookit, it's General Osborn. Should I salute? Got my hands full, though."

Osborn's face goes red. "You will speak to your superior with respect!"

"Sure, I will," Wolverine says agreeably, "Just point one out to me."

"I'll speak to you later, Banner," Osborn says, pointing the hand-repulsors at Wolverine for a moment before clenching his fists. "Captain Rogers." He whirls and heads outside, taking off the moment he leaves the building.

Wolverine coughs on the blown-up dust Osborn leaves behind. "Man, he really stinks. Weird shit, too. Smells like coconut and metal."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one ever trusted Osborn. And they were right.

Steve jerks his head around to stare at Wolverine. "That's... Tony smells like that."

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Bruce says, "Maybe that's a result of the power source for the armor."

"But Osborn said he developed his power source independently- he just wanted Tony to help refine it." Steve runs outside and looks up, trying to find Osborn in the sky. "He knows something about Tony. I've got to follow him. There!" Osborn is flying fairly low and slow, and not heading toward the enemy-held portion of the city.

"Not that way. C'mon." Wolverine drops the crate on the floor and heads down an alley. Steve and Bruce follow him to see X-unit's two tanks, idling in the street. Pepper is looking out of the turrets of the vehicle painted with a phoenix and Fury is glaring from the one marked with an angel. Beast, Clint, Natasha, and Storm are on foot, heavily armed, as always. "Osborn's up to something. You were right, Fury."

"Sir," Steve says, looking at Fury. "You were planning this?"

Fury grunts. "Never hurts to be prepared."

"Get on," Wolverine says as he climbs aboard Angel's tank, finding a perch above the treads. "We'll act as spotters."

Steve and Bruce climb onto Phoenix's tank. "Everyone here?"

"Yeah," Iceman shouts from inside the Phoenix while Cyclops confirms from the Angel.

Wolverine calls out, "Let's roll! To the left! Follow that asshole!" He holds onto the tank with one hand as it grinds over rubble.

***

"We're losing him!" Steve shouts a few blocks later. There's so much rubble the tanks are traveling nearly in a tunnel and they can only see a small patch of sky.

Hawkeye stops and fits an arrow to his bow. "We need backup." The arrow arches high and ignites in a red and blue flare. Less than a minute later, Parker scrambles down the side of a collapsed building.

"Hey, guys, what's up?"

"Osborn's behind whatever happened to Tony," Steve says. "We need to follow him." He points at the sky. "We can't see him from here."

"I can do that, but how can I let you know when I've found him?"

There is the sound of rubble crushing under something heavy, and a man in a suit of armor similar to Tony's except for the dull grayish black color and lack of a power source appears around the corner, followed by a troop of men in Tony's black graphene armor. They have the gold M.I.T. beaver on the chests and arms of their clothing. "Leave a trail of bread crumbs." He unhooks a string of small objects from one of the many weapon's ports on his armor and offers it to Parker. "Pull a pin and drop one every so often. It makes a distinctive flash-bang we can follow." Parker takes the string and ties it around his waist securely.

"Colonel Rhodes," Steve says, after a glance at the unsurprised expression on Fury's face, "glad to have you join us."

Rhodes nods. "Glad to have an excuse to take Osborn down." He waves to his troops and they fall in behind and ahead of the tanks.

Parker looks at the building around them. "Hey, Phoenix, give me a leg up." He taps at her tank's cannon until the muzzle is at a forty-five degree angle. "Great, hold it there." He turns, runs for the tank, is up on the tread, onto the barrel of the gun, and leaps to a low rooftop, then dives to a slightly higher one and in seconds is on the roof of a five story building and still moving seemingly effortlessly up.

A minute later there is a loud flash and bang ahead and off to the right. Fury and Pepper give directions, and the tanks turn. Steve peers ahead through the rubble, heart racing. Maybe they're not too late.

***

After the third flash-bang, Murdock's Hell-raisers join them. They're also wearing Tony's graphene, but distinguished by a red devil patch. "You're in my territory," Murdock says calmly, while leaning on a huge pry-bar smeared with dried blue blood.

"We're after Osborn," Steve says, and that seems to be explanation enough. Murdock's eyes stare right through him for a second and then he nods. "Never trusted him." He raises his pry-bar and gestures once. The Hell-raisers flank Fury's army. "We know shortcuts." He grins suddenly. "And where all the death-traps are. Watch your step."

By now they are far too large a group to sneak up on Osborn, but that doesn't matter. Steve senses that time is far more important than any element of surprise.

***

Parker leaps down onto Angel's tank around fifteen minutes later. He's sweaty, and red-faced with excitement, but barely out of breath. "Ozzie's entered a building two blocks away."

Fury looks around. "Stop the tanks. We'll leave them here as backup."

"I think I should go on ahead, sir," Steve says. "Maybe he'll talk to me."

"Us," Bruce says as he climbs down from the tank. He's slightly green and breathing a little faster than normal. "He did invite me to join him."

Steve nods. "Us."

Fury looks at them and then nods. "We'll be right behind you."

***

Steve sees several Hammer men as he and Bruce follow Parker to the building. The Hammer men look at them, but don't interfere, which is all that Steve cares about at the moment. He holds his shield tighter, wanting to smash someone with it. Beside him, Bruce is muttering soothing mantras to himself, while clenching fists that grow larger every second. One of the Hammer men steps in front of them, barring the way to the door. "Sir. Mr. Osborn doesn't permit unauthorized visitors beyond this point." The man sounds nervous, and keeps glancing sideways at Bruce.

"Yeah, I know, it's all right," Steve says with a smile that is maybe just a little more threat than he intends. "He'll want to see us. We were invited." Out of the corner of his eye, he sees one of the Hammer men signal with a mirror flash down an alley. They have to hurry.

Bruce makes a soft noise, deep in his chest, and the man flinches. "Ah. Maybe I should just go tell him that you're here."

Steve doesn't know if there's another way of the building-- or, hell, with the Iron Patriot suit, maybe Osborn can just make another exit. He says, softly, "I don't think you ought to do that, soldier." He's trying to decide if they can take down the Hammer forces quietly enough to slip in undetected, or if they should just bash their way in and hope to be fast enough when the door opens and Osborn emerges. He's still in the armor, and he's carrying something in one hand.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," Osborn says heartily. He opens the faceplate and smiles at Steve and Bruce. "You were quick to think better of my offer."

Steve takes a step forward, brushing the Hammer man out of his way without glancing at him. "What's that?"

"This?" Osborn holds up the small glowing object. "It's the extra power source I was talking about. With this, Doctor Banner can return to work."

Steve lunges forward and grabs it so quickly Osborn hasn't a chance to react. He looks at it. He _recognizes_ it, knows the pattern of scratches and fine dents along the rim. "This is Tony's. What have you done to him? Where is he?"

"Nonsense," Osborn replies. "You all saw him die yesterday, acting the fool as always." Osborn's men are gathering now, silently forming a crowd around them. He smiles at Steve. "Don't you do anything stupid now. I have an army."

Steve smiles, listening to Bruce's breathing race. He slips Tony's _heart_ inside his shirt for safe-keeping and takes a better grip on his shield. "I have a Hulk."

Bruce bursts out of his clothes and smashes the wall by the door, leaping into the building. Peter jumps straight up and lands wrapped around the Iron Patriot's head. "I'll keep him busy, Cap! Go on!"

Steve doesn't waste an instant telling Peter that he's hopelessly overmatched, but just runs in after the Hulk. Behind him he hears Osborn swearing and the rumble of tanks and shouting of familiar voices and gunfire. It's all background as he follows the Hulk's trail of destruction to a room dimly lit by kerosene lanterns. There's all sorts of scientific equipment around, but all that Steve sees is the bloody figure slumped motionless tied to a chair, with a gaping hole in his chest.

"Tony!" Steve shouts and brushes past the Hulk. He pulls the power source from his shirt, and tries to figure out how to get it back in place. Tony can't be dead, he can't. There's a wire. Steve lifts Tony's head so he can look into the horrible steel _thing_ , but it's all... slime and he can't see, and he reaches in but he can't... his hand won't fit, he can't find the place to put the wire, and Tony isn't moving, and he's cold, so cold.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glass slippers and ice palaces. (Well, the singular of each.)

"I can't." Steve looks around wildly. Tony's armor is in a heap slanting against the wall, and there are... things... with blood on them scattered over a nearby table. There's also the cut up remains of a [ Hello Kitty](http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-11/25/c_122332659.htm) Thanksgiving's day float, red and yellow fabric lying in folds atop several firework tubes. But there's nothing that tells him how to _fix_ this, how to save Tony. "My hands are too big." He pulls at the ropes holding Tony to the heavy chair, but the knots are tight and the ropes are too heavy to quickly cut with his knife. He tugs at the chair, but it's heavy metal, bolted to the cement floor.

Hulk grunts, brushes Steve to one side and rips up the chair, taking a hunk of cement with it. He carries Tony outside and roars, holding the chair above his head before setting it down and turning to snarl at the suddenly silenced people who'd been fighting each other. The street is full of Hammer forces and Fury's army, but no one is moving. Everyone is staring at the Hulk, and at Tony. Peter is lying on the ground in front on Osborn who has one metal foot resting on his chest. Fury is standing in front of Osborn, aiming his rocket launcher at Osborn's face. Osborn still has his face plate lifted, and his face is twisted with rage, skin gone eerily a sickly green.

Steve leaps over the rubble to get outside the building. "Tony was trying to save us, and you've killed him. Killed him because you were _jealous_." He drops Tony's power source next to the chair and moves steadily toward Osborn. "You're a sick, selfish monster. And I'm going to kill you."

"I'm the only one who can save us!" Osborn shouts and moves away from Peter who draws in a ragged breath and coughs, curling up. "ME! I AM THE IRON PATRIOT!" He pounds his metal chest. "My Hammer will save the Earth!" His eyes are wide and wild. "To ME, MY HAMMER!" he shouts, and then looks around. His troops are standing with their weapons lowered, staring at him in horror. "COWARDS! All of you! Well, I don't need you, I don't need anyone! I can save the Earth by myself! And then I will take my rightful place as ruler!" Steve hurls his shield at the same moment Fury opens fire, but they both miss Osborn as his face plate snaps down and he takes off in a flare of repulsors.

Steve curses and turns back to Tony. "Someone, help me get him out of that chair." The Hulk bends down to look at Tony, and roars in frustration. Tony jerks and his eyes fly open. He looks at Steve and his lips move, but no sound emerges before his eyes shut again. His skin looks gray. Steve lunges for Tony's power source and turns around, holding it high. "Who's got small hands? NOW, people!"

"What is this, glass slipper time?" Wolverine asks, then he backs up as Steve glares at him. "Hey, everyone with small paws, line up and have a go!"

"Pepper has delicate hands," Natasha says, "And they're strong, too." No one asks how she knows this, but Clint gives her an assessing look as Natasha helps Pepper climb out of the tank. Pepper is blushing as Natasha's hands slide up to her breasts, but all she says is, "What do I do?" as she hurries over to Tony.

Steve pushes the power unit into her hands. "There's got to be a place to hook up this wire. I think after that, it should be easy."

Pepper looks into Tony's chest, and swallows hard. "Right. I can do this." She shuts her eyes, takes the wire in one hand and feels around inside. "Oh, my god, this is... so... disgusting." There is a click, and she pulls her hand back hastily. "Did that do it?"

Tony jerks and opens his eyes. He's breathing and color is returning to his face. "Osborn...." He coughs. "He's crazy." He looks down at his chest, and the power unit dangling by a wire. "Well... this is ... embarrassing."

Steve puts his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Welcome back."

Tony smiles at Steve.

"Touching as this little scene is," Fury says, "I suggest we strike while Osborn is keeping the enemy occupied."

"Yeah." Tony pulls against the ropes. "Get me out of this. I need to get into the armor."

Steve wants to protest that Tony isn't fit, but hell, in his mind, Tony is an honorary Marine. It doesn't matter whether you're fit to fight, when you're needed, you go. He saws at the ropes. "The armor's in the building." 

"Right. Good." The moment his right arm is free, Tony picks up the power unit and puts it back into his chest, turning it until it clicks. "That's better."

***

Steve will give him this much credit, Osborn isn't just bat-shit crazy, he fights like a madman. Between him and Tony (who's keeping the enemy between him and Osborn, a tactic Steve highly approves), they're fully occupying the aerial combatants so they can't interfere with the battle at ground level. Steve and the combined human ground forces are going through the blue guys' foot troops like a hot knife through butter. Rhodes' Brass Rats throw thermite bombs, which seem to really terrify the enemy. The freeze ray gets some people, but there are so many of them, it can't get everyone. Steve is delighted to discover that the ray can't get past his shield. They've formed a wedge of their strongest fighters and he keeps moving his shield to deflect the ray back onto the enemy, who are apparently just as susceptible to being encased in ice as anyone.

"What the fuck is that?" Wolverine growls from his position on Steve's right side, pointing at a huge blue-white _building_ covering the site of Central Park.

Beast is at Steve's left hand. He growls and throws a blue guy into several others. "Strike! Looks like the Snow Queen's ice palace."

"How do we get in?" Steve's fairly sure this must be the enemy's headquarters. Really, why build a palace if you're not going to live in it? And, while he's not sure about that, he thinks this is somewhere near the coordinates Tony had given for the center of the 'disturbances'.

"Recite the Lord's prayer?" Beast suggests as he grabs a blue guy under each arm and squeezes.

Tony flies down, lands beside Steve and uses both hand repulsors to blow the outer wall of the ice palace to glittery, wet shards before taking off to resume air combat.

"Or that," Beast says.

***

"What?" Steve looks around. The inside of the ice palace appears to be nothing but corridors. He can see through several layers, enough to realize it's a sort of maze, but not see well enough to tell what, if anything, is at the heart. "HULK! SMASH!" He points at the maze. The Hulk grins and begins bashing his way through. His roaring clears ice out of the way nearly as fast as his fists. 

It's bitterly cold, and the melted ice re-freezes almost instantly, so they're watching their step nearly as much as watching for opposition. "Presumptuous mortals!"

Steve holds up his shield in time to deflect a freeze ray. For the first time he sees where it's originating. A blue man, smaller than the others, but dressed in much more elaborate armor, is facing them, holding a glowing box. "Get that box!" Steve shouts unnecessarily. The Hulk roars and moves forward, brushing aside the ice that builds up on his chest. 

"NO! You cannot! I am your KING!"

The Hulk grins, grabs the man by the legs and and pounds him repeatedly against the ice.

Steve says, "You know, I think maybe he can." Steve looks at the blue box, which is off to one side. "I don't think anyone should touch that." He goes over to the man who is now lying in a depression in the ice, looking quite startled, but not otherwise in imminent danger of inconveniently dying before Steve can get some answers from him. "King, huh? We don't have kings in the US."


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ice and lightning!

The blue guy's skin is changing colors, fading to something even paler than Steve's fair skin. At the same time blue guy's eyes shift from blood red to a clear poison green. He sneers up at Steve. "You can't hold me. You can't kill me! I am Loki! I am immortal!"

Steve sighs. "You know, you really are a slow learner." He leans over to smile in the man's face. "Don't ever tell a Marine what he can't do. Now, the way I see it, you can surrender and go back to where ever you came from, or I can just stumble around in your palace until I break all your toys. And of course, I'd leave Hulk here to keep you company."

Hulk slams a fist through an ice wall and roars.

"I'm feeling kinda impatient, and I'd rather just kick your asses off my planet, but if you push me, I push back." Steve grabs the back of the man's cape and picks him up, shaking him hard. "And, mister, you've been pushing." Steve tosses Loki at the Hulk. "Hold onto him, Hulk and try not to break him too much. We might need him. Beast, make sure no one touches that box." Between them, Steve thinks maybe Tony and Bruce can figure out what the thing is, or at least how to safely handle it, but he can't spare either of them for science stuff at the moment. "When Fury gets here, let him know what happened." Steve throws his shield at an inner wall, smashing it not quite as thoroughly as the Hulk could do, but far more neatly.

Wolverine etches an arrow in the wall with one of his sabers and follows Steve. "Better hurry. We left the front door open, there's a draft."

Steve nods without looking back and then smashes another wall. "Got any idea which way to go?" It all looks pretty much the same to Steve, blue-white ice everywhere. He has to keep moving or his boots stick. It's been cold everywhere for months, but this is more intense. His breath makes clouds of fine snowflakes.

Wolverine looks around. He sniffs. "Maybe... at least... there's something different that way. You know, smells like a thunderstorm." He slashes another arrow. "Funny thing, I haven't smelled that in a long time."

"Ozone." Steve steps forward and smashes another wall in the direction Wolverine indicated. "I think I can smell it, too, now that you mention it." There's been plenty of snowstorms and rain, but Steve hasn't seen lightning since the troubles began. Two more walls are broken and Steve pauses. "Do you hear that?"

Wolverine tilts his head. "Yeah. Rumbling. Something really big growling, maybe." He grins and draws his second saber. "Let's go check it out, Cap."

The noise gets louder and the ozone smell stronger. Steve can feel the hair rising on his arms. Wolverine's shaggy hair bristles around his head like something out of a cheap werewolf movie. Faint sparks leap along the edges of Wolverine's sabers and dance on Steve's shield. They can see shadows of something through the ice, something with colors that aren't ice-blue. It's motionless, but a bright light is flickering above it.

Steve smashes one last wall and ducks as a bolt of lightning strikes his shield and then dissipates.

"What the fuck is that!" Wolverine yells from behind him, leaning forward, but staying behind the cover of the shield.

"I have no idea!" Steve shouts back. He peers around the shield into a large round chamber. In the center there's a broad pillar of ice. In the pillar there's a big, blond man frozen up to his neck. One arm is outstretched, the hand clasped around the handle of a sledge hammer. The face of hammer is free of ice, which isn't surprising as lightning is crawling over it constantly, a steady stream of micro-bolts drawn to it from every direction and a larger, more cohesive, bolt pouring from it to be absorbed into a glowing blue cube set on another ice pedestal across the chamber. The man's head turns and he looks at them.

"Beware! I cannot control Mjolnir!"

Well, at least it doesn't look like he's on Loki's side, although his clothes seem to have come from the same leather and metal oddball shop. "We'll get you out of that!" Steve has no idea how, but hey, the guy is alive, they can't leave him like that.

"No. My prison cannot be broken by mortal means." The man meets Steve's eyes. He's not shouting, but his voice somehow rings clear over the constant thunder. "But if I die, Mjolnir will cease stealing Midgard's lightnings, and Loki will have failed to fulfill the terms of his bargain with the Frost Giants."

"What?" Steve shouts.

"He swore to prove his worth as Laufey's heir by subjugating this city with a single battalion. On his success, they would open the gates and slaughter all of Midgard before completing the transformation to Jotunheim, the ever-frozen realm. On his failure, they would withdraw. Kill me, and you will be able to defeat Loki. I ask only that you spare his life, for he is my brother, despite his falling into evil ways."

Wolverine looks glum. "Brothers. They can be a real pain in the ass."

Steve shakes his head. "We've captured Loki. We'll make him tell us how to free you!" Steve looks at Wolverine. "Go get him and bring him here."

"Right." Wolverine ducks as another bolt of lightning strikes the shield, and then he runs back the way they came. An instant later a second bolt of lightning arches over Steve and blasts the walls behind him into a mountain of ice. There'll be no getting through that.

"Damn," Steve says softly. The lightning is coming faster, and shooting out at random angles. "I don't think we can wait for Loki!" He braces himself and stands. He could shoot the man from here. "What's your name?"

"I am Thor Odinson!"

"Steve Rogers! Sorry about this." Steve draws his gun and levels it between Thor's eyes.

"You are a worthy warrior, Steve Rogers! I shall await you in Valhalla!" Thor smiles at him. "We shall drink much mead together, and tell many fine tales of valor. Strike now!"

Steve's finger tightens on the trigger.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Reign ends in Rain.

Lightning hits his shield and again deflects harmlessly. Steve jerks at the flash, but doesn't fire. He blinks the after-image away. The last thing he wants to do is botch the shot. But with all the lightning... wait a moment. He lowers the gun and thinks hard and fast. There's a chance to end this without killing Thor. But if it doesn't work, he will have at best a split-second to shoot before the lightning gets him and they'll both be dead. He doesn't believe in Valhalla, and he still hasn't been able to impress Tony in a real bed. But he'd see Thor's face every time they made love if he kills the man just to be on the safe side.

"Well, it's not as if I wanted to live forever." He slips his arm free of the shield, and throws it left-handed before he can change his mind, right hand bringing the gun back up in line with Thor even before the shield leaves his hand. The shield interrupts the beam of force flowing to the blue cube, Thor bellows triumphantly and the hammer whirls _inside_ the ice, shattering it. Thor steps forward, ice shards melting to steam around him, to a golden glow and an impossible wind coming from the hammer as Thor laughs. He flings the hammer up and it bursts through the ice overhead and continues skyward.

There's no more lightning in the chamber, so Steve steps forward and looks up at the hammer. As distance small as it is, it's still clearly visible against the gray snow clouds hovering over the city. Steve sees a flash of red and gold, Tony approaching the hammer, and he feels the urge to shout, to warn, although he doesn't know what he's warning against. And then the sky breaks open, the clouds giving up rain, hot rain lit in silver streaks by continuous lightning bolts, sheets of them, curtains of them. The ice palace is dissolving around him, but he barely notices because Tony is coming down fast, too fast. There's a gap in the wall near the blue cube, and Steve can see a tree in the distance beyond. He runs for the opening, past the smoking, melted remains of his shield, past Thor who is still laughing, spinning in the warm rain, face upturned to it.

"TONY!" he shouts as he runs, but he can't even hear himself over the confusion of other voices, of other noises. He follows the falling shape desperately, ignoring everything else, pushing past confused people, and cringing blue men alike. He notes in passing that the blue men are trying to hide from the rain. The frozen ground is rapidly turning to slick mud, and he nearly falls, but he keeps going, looking up, watching, trying to get there, knowing he can't catch Tony in the armor and also knowing he can't not try. He's sliding down a short slope and breaking through a rim of ice on the Central Park Lake. It's been frozen solid for months, but the impossible rain is breaking it up, melting it down. There's still ice in the middle and he sees a large hole where something very heavy has just fallen. He feels fish moving sluggishly against his legs before he tosses aside the gun he'd forgot he was holding and dives in, swimming deep through the chilly water, eyes open despite the ache. And there. There. Red and gold, and sinking slower than he'd expect. He grabs an arm and pulls, kicks and drags until he feels the strain in all the muscles running down his back.

And then slowly the pressure eases and the arm moves within his grasp, turning until the metal hand is clasping his and the other metal arm is around his waist. And they're rising through the water, up into the light of a beautiful downpour. Steve laughs and tilts his head back, drinking in the warm rain, feeling the warm metal around him. He swims backwards, dragging Tony, who is moving in an uncoordinated series of flaps and kicks that don't add much to their speed, but reassure him for the proof of life. He gets to the bank and drags Tony up beside him before sliding in the mud into an unplanned sprawling sit.

Tony's arms flail a moment, and then fumble at the helmet, which opens, breaks apart, falls off to lie in the mud, in the rain. Tony turns his head to look at Steve and then lets his head fall back with a soft thump that Steve wouldn't have heard over the rain, over the thunder, over the distant sound of people shouting if he'd been a foot further away. There's not much other noise now, no gunfire, no bombs. "Mmm, Steve," Tony asks, "what the hell?"

Steve runs a muddy hand through Tony's hair, finding several large lumps, but no blood, and Tony doesn't wince too badly so he hasn't managed to crack his skull, this time. "Um. I'm not quite sure, but maybe we won the war, saved the Earth, and got the electricity and weather working normally again."

"Oh. That's nice."

"Yeah." Steve is suddenly very tired, and he hopes he doesn't have to get up and kill anyone. The warm mud is actually quite pleasant to sit in. "I think I saw Fury taking charge. Or maybe it was Pepper. You know, in the right light, I can't tell them apart."

"Steve?"

"Yeah."

"I think my suit is fried."

"You'll build a better one." Steve pats Tony on the metal chest, wiping the mud away to see the blue glow shining strongly. He draws little squiggles in the mud with one finger, making a smiley face. It seems like the kind of day where you should wear a happy face shirt. Steve wonders if maybe he hit his own head on something, but it doesn't matter. He thinks he's just tired.

"Steve?"

"Yeah."

"The Iron Patriot got away."

"Oh. Well. We'll take care of him later." Steve pats Tony's chest again. "Can you get out of your suit?"

Tony moves his arms randomly. "I think I need help."

"Yeah." Steve sighs and pulls a screwdriver out of his pocket. "So. Where are you going now that the war's over? Back to California?"

Tony blinks up at Steve. "I don't know. Where are you going?"

Steve pulls off Tony's right gauntlet and tips it to let water pour out. "I don't know either."

Tony flexes his fingers and then intertwines them with Steve's. "Wanna go somewhere together?"

Steve looks down at Tony's wide-eyed hopeful expression and tightens his grip on Tony's hand. "Yeah. I'd like that."


End file.
